Relocating?  New study ranks all U.S. States from best to worst in terms of crime, economy, housing, education, more

An interesting and potentially valuable new study has revealed the best states to emigrate to, with some interesting choices coming out on top – and on the bottom.

Immigration law advisors ManifestLaw, looked at a total of 50 factors, from crimes to disposable income all the way through to factors such as pupil-to-teacher ratios, cost of living, and available housing in order to determine which are the best states in which we should to emigrate.

These factors were then grouped into the following categories:

• Crime and Arrests,
• Economic Indicators,
• Educational Indicators,
• Housing Availability and Costs, Living Costs, and,
• Safety and Infrastructure.

The groupings indicated above were then used for the final index score. Negative variables like crime and arrests and living costs were inverted, meaning a higher rank is better.

Taking the top spot on the list of states to emigrate to is Wyoming, with an impressive index score of 66.77 out of 100. Wyoming ranks fourth in the nation for the economic factors section of the index, only behind Connecticut in first, Massachusetts in second, and New Hampshire in third.

Wyoming also ranks above average in almost all other categories, placing 18^th for crime and educational indicators, 22^nd for housing availability and costs, and 12^th for living costs.

Minnesota ranks in second place, with an index score of 65.92 out of 100. Notably, Minnesota ranks the highest out of any state nationwide in the Safety and Infrastructure category, meaning the percentage of roads in acceptable condition is the highest anywhere in the country, while average annual road fatalities (per billion miles) are the lowest in the nation.

Third place goes to Illinois, with an index score of 64.79 out of 100. Illinois ranks second out of every state for Crime and Safety, behind Florida.

Illinois also ranks above average in almost every other category, placing 17^th for economic indicators, 20^th for educational and housing affordability and cost indicators and 16^th for living costs.

North Dakota takes the fourth spot on the list, scoring 64.07 out of 100. North Dakota has some of the best living costs in the country, ranking fifth out of every state. However, the state fairs poorly for Crime and Arrest Indicators, placing 41^st out of 50 states.

Iowa ranks in at fifth place, with an index score of 63.8 out of 100. Iowa notably ranks fifth out of all states for living costs, as well as second for safety and infrastructure.

Sixth place goes to Nebraska, which scored 63.08 out of 100. Nebraska ranked above average in all but one category, ranking 16^th for economic indicators, tenth for educational indicators, 14^th for housing affordability and costs, 15^th for living costs, and 18^th for Safety and Infrastructure. Crime and Arrests are the only factor that let Nebraska down, however, ranking 32^nd out of every state nationwide.

The remainder of the top ten features Washington in seventh place, with a score of 62.94 out of 100. Notably, Washington ranked first in terms of living costs, fifth for economic indicators, and sixth for educational indicators.

Connecticut takes the eighth spot on the list, with an index score of 62.19 out of 100. Interestingly, Connecticut was seen to rank first out of every state for economic indicators, which included homeownership rate, disposable personal income per capita, and low poverty rates.

New Hampshire is ninth on the list, scoring 61.76 out of 100. Although it ranks fifth for crime and arrests, third for economic indicators, and seventh for safety and infrastructure, housing and affordability costs unfortunately let it down, placing 43^rd out of the 50 states.

South Dakota rounds out the list in tenth place, with an index score of 61.38 out of 100. While it was above average in most categories, South Dakota, ranks 43^rd out of 50 states for crime and arrests.

Interestingly, Hawaii ranked in as the worst state to emigrate to, scoring just 38.29 out of 100 on the index score. Hawaii was found to rank 49^th in educational indicators, which included pupil-to-teacher ratio, tuition fees and public expenditure on instruction per pupil, behind South Carolina which ranked 50^th for this category.

Hawaii also ranked 49^th for Housing and Availability costs, coming in only behind Massachusetts in 50^th place.

The Top 10 States to emigrate to:

Rank	State	Index Score / 100
1.	Wyoming	66.77
2.	Minnesota	65.92
3.	Illinois	64.79
4.	North Dakota	64.07
5.	Iowa	63.80
6.	Nebraska	63.06
7.	Washington	62.84
8.	Connecticut	62.19
9.	New Hampshire	61.76
10.	South Dakota	61.38

Simon Craven, immigration attorney at ManifestLaw, commented on the findings, saying:

“The study provides a clear look at which states are the best for relocating for anyone potentially thinking of doing so. Considering a wide range of factors, the results show how different states excel in areas like quality of life and economic opportunities, while some may fall short in others.”

“This index is a helpful tool for anyone considering moving, offering a better understanding of which places might be the best fit. The findings highlight the unique benefits of different regions, making it easier to decide where to go next.”

 As an added bonus, ManifestLaw also shared the complete of all U.S. States, and how they appeared in the ranking.  See below.

Below is a table of extended results

Rank	State	Rank – Crime & Arrests	Rank – Economic Indicators	Rank – Educational Indicators	Rank – Housing Availability & Costs	Rank – Living Costs	Rank – Safety & Infrastructure	Index Score / 100
1.	Wyoming	18	4	18	22	12	26	66.77
2.	Minnesota	28	8	12	27	7	1	65.92
3.	Illinois	2	17	20	20	16	25	64.79
4.	North Dakota	41	10	33	10	5	11	64.07
5.	Iowa	15	25	5	8	21	2	63.80
6.	Nebraska	32	16	10	14	15	18	63.06
7.	Washington	22	5	6	42	1	30	62.84
8.	Connecticut	13	1	13	45	2	44	62.19
9.	New Hampshire	5	3	24	43	24	7	61.76
10.	South Dakota	43	12	17	19	10	15	61.38
11.	Massachusetts	3	2	3	50	4	24	61.35
12.	Virginia	26	9	28	32	6	10	61.10
13.	Maryland	16	11	26	39	3	34	59.84
14.	Kansas	19	28	11	13	26	29	59.61
15.	Indiana	6	35	19	6	41	5	59.22
16.	New Jersey	35	7	14	47	8	4	57.92
17.	Florida	1	22	39	28	29	40	57.55
18.	Ohio	4	38	22	15	35	22	57.27
19.	Colorado	39	6	36	41	11	36	57.15
20.	Utah	34	24	4	34	20	12	56.53
21.	Vermont	11	15	30	36	39	3	56.33
22.	Texas	23	32	41	17	13	39	56.24
23.	Tennessee	40	30	32	23	14	9	55.68
24.	Michigan	27	39	21	16	32	14	55.52
25.	Oklahoma	24	41	48	5	19	8	54.65
26.	Maine	7	19	9	35	48	21	54.23
27.	Idaho	10	33	29	29	28	23	54.23
28.	Wisconsin	42	23	7	26	30	35	54.19
29.	Alabama	12	46	25	7	37	6	53.98
30.	New York	45	21	1	44	9	19	53.81
31.	Missouri	33	34	27	9	31	47	53.49
32.	Pennsylvania	49	18	16	24	23	37	53.29
33.	Alaska	48	13	15	37	27	32	52.15
34.	Montana	30	26	23	33	42	28	51.38
35.	North Carolina	14	40	40	25	36	27	51.27
36.	Georgia	25	43	37	21	38	16	50.37
37.	Oregon	29	29	8	38	46	20	49.97
38.	West Virginia	9	44	47	1	50	31	49.62
39.	Rhode Island	8	27	43	46	18	43	49.12
40.	Kentucky	20	47	34	12	47	13	49.11
41.	California	50	14	2	48	17	33	48.44
42.	Delaware	37	20	46	40	44	17	48.40
43.	Arkansas	36	49	42	2	40	42	48.02
44.	Arizona	47	36	35	31	25	38	47.21
45.	Nevada	46	37	38	30	22	41	47.11
46.	South Carolina	38	42	50	11	45	45	44.77
47.	New Mexico	17	48	45	18	33	49	44.65
48.	Louisiana	44	45	31	3	43	50	43.96
49.	Mississippi	21	50	44	4	49	48	42.10
50.	Hawaii	31	31	49	49	34	46	38.29

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Methodology: A total of 50 factors were used to compile the index. The raw data for each factor was cleaned, checked, and standardised on the same scale from 0 to 10, where 0 and 10 represent the worst and best values present in the data to allow for accurate comparison between factors. Factors for which a high score would be negative (such as crime data) were subtracted from 10 to invert their scoring. Weighting was then assigned to each factor, reflecting its importance in the analysis. Following this, the indicators were grouped into the following categories and given weightings:

• Crime and Arrests (15.41%)
• Economic Indicators (23.71%)
• Educational Indicators (18.86%)
• Housing Availability & Costs (19.4%)
• Living Costs (14.01%)
• Safety & Infrastructure (8.62%)

Once the weightings were assigned, the total score for the factors was calculated, producing an overall index score out of 100 for each entry, upon which the final ranking is based.

(Source:  ManifestLaw)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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