LOCAL
Vermont placed in top 10 of US News‘ overall states ranking
Bailey AllenGreta CrossUSA TODAY NETWORK – New England
Aug. 1, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET
A new study ranking all 50 U.S. states from best to worst placed Vermont in the top 10
U.S. News & World Report published its Overall Best State Rankings list for 2026 this week. Each state was analyzed in eight categories: education, health care, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, natural environment, and crime and corrections
Vermont earned high marks for healthcare access, healthcare quality and public health, the publication noted. The state also scored well for air and water quality. However, it ranked lower for transportation and long-term fiscal stability
This year, the top five best states overall were Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska. The bottom five were Arkansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alaska and Louisiana
Here’s where Vermont ranked on the list
Vermont ranks 10th overall, per US News & World Report
Vermont was ranked as the 10th-best overall state by U.S. News & World Report
The Green Mountain State ranked No. 1 for opportunity, No. 3 for crime and corrections, No. 9 for natural environment, No. 12 for healthcare, No. 14 for infrastructure, No. 23 for education, No. 33 for economy, and No. 41 for fiscal stability
Vermont spans 9,615 square miles and has a population of 644,663 The state has a gross domestic product of $48.4 billion, a median household income of $82,730 and 53.8% of residents are college-educated
Its major industries include maple syrup and dairy, the publication said
Which state ranks No. 1?
U.S. News & World Report ranked Utah as the best overall state. The state ranked No. 2 for economy and fiscal stability, No. 4 for infrastructure, No. 6 for education, No. 7 for crime and corrections, No. 18 for health care, No. 24 for opportunity and No. 48 for natural environment
Utah, first named “Deseret” by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who settled in the area in the mid-1800s, spans 84,898 square miles and has a population of 3.5 million, the publication said. The state has a gross domestic product of $316.0 billion, a median household income of $96,658 and 49.1% of residents have a college education
Which state ranks No. 50?
Louisiana ranked No. 50. The state ranked No. 43 for fiscal stability, No. 45 for health care and opportunity, No. 46 for infrastructure and education, No. 49 for economy and natural environment and No. 50 for crime and corrections
The state, named in honor of King Louis XIV, spans 52,375 square miles and has a population of 4.6 million The state has a gross domestic product of $340.1 billion, a median household income of $60,986, and 35.3% of residents are college-educated
How are each of the 50 U.S. states ranked?
Here’s how U.S. News & World Report ranked each of the 50 U.S. states this year:
- Utah
- South Dakota
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Florida
- Washington
- Vermont
- Massachusetts
- Iowa
- North Carolina
- Delaware
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Virginia
- New Jersey
- Maryland
- Georgia
- New York
- Kansas
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Montana
- Indiana
- Missouri
- South Carolina
- Rhode Island
- Arizona
- California
- Oklahoma
- Illinois
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- Alabama
- West Virgina
- Arkansas
- Michigan
- New Mexico
- Mississippi
- Alaska
- Louisiana
How were the rankings determined?
To determine the rankings, US News analyzed 71 metrics across eight categories – education, health care, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, natural environment, and crime and corrections
Some categories were weighted more than others. For example, health care and education were weighted more than crime and corrections and natural environment. Within the categories, each state was given points out of 100, with the best state given 100 points and the worst given zero
In addition to these point-based ratings, U.S. News surveyed people across the country on how satisfied they were with their state’s performance in the categories. Between 2018 and 2025, U.S. News surveyed more than 56,000 people across the United States
Here’s a closer look at how the categories were analyzed News & World Report:
- Education: Two-year and four-year college graduation rates, educational attainment, low college debt, low college tuition and fees, college readiness, high school graduation rate, National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading scores, and preschool enrollment.
- Health care: Health insurance enrollment, child wellness and dental visits, adult wellness and dental visits, health care affordability, low preventable hospital admission rates, Medicare quality, nursing home and hospital qualities, low infant mortality rate, low mortality rate, low obesity and smoking rates, mental health, and low suicide rate.
- Economy: Business creation rate, top company headquarters, patent creation rate, low tax burden, venture capital invested, job growth, labor force participation, low unemployment rate, net migration, Gross Domestic Product growth, and young population growth.
- Infrastructure: Electricity prices, power grid reliability, renewable energy usage, internet subscription rate and access to gigabit internet, bridge and road qualities, commute times, and public transit usage.
- Opportunity: Cost of living, housing affordability, low food insecurity and poverty rate, income dispersion, household income, and education, unemployment and labor force participation gap by race, gender, and disability status.
- Fiscal stability: Government credit rating, pension fund liability, liquidity, and budget balancing.
- Natural environment: Drinking water and air qualities, low industrial toxins, and low pollution health risk.
- Crime and corrections: Jailing equality, low juvenile incarceration, low incarceration rate, low property and violent crime rates.
