Wisconsin ranks 15th in US News report, led by top education marks

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin ranks 15th in US News report, led by top education marks

Lance SchulteisMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
Aug. 3, 2026, 9:43 a.m. CT

With high marks in education and environment, Wisconsin ranked in the top half of states in a new study by U.S. News & World Report

The report ranked U.S. states across eight categories: crime and corrections, economy, education, fiscal stability, health care, infrastructure, natural environment and opportunity. Each state was given an overall ranking based on those categories

Wisconsin ranked 15th, just below Delaware and right above Wyoming. Here’s a look at what the report had to say about the Badger State

Education is Wisconsin’s area of expertise

Wisconsin was listed among the country‘s best in education with a fifth-place ranking, its highest of any category included in the report. The category was split into pre-K-12 and higher education, with Wisconsin ranking sixth and ninth, respectively. The state’s high school graduation rate of 90.5% is nearly 5% over the national average. 

U.S. News ranked the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marquette University and Edgewood College as the state’s top three universities. 

Wisconsin has a disparity in crime and corrections 

Wisconsin ranked 30th in the crime and corrections category, but that doesn’t mean it’s average across the board

Instead, Wisconsin ranked 10th in the country in public safety, but was near the bottom in corrections outcomes, placing 48th

The ranking for corrections outcomes was based on incarceration rate, juvenile incarceration and equality in jailing. The state ranked last in equality in jailing, 33rd in incarceration rate, with a rate of 346 per 100,000 people, and 34th in juvenile incarceration

The public safety category shows Wisconsin with the 21st-lowest violent crime rate and the sixth-lowest property crime rate. Wisconsin was the highest-ranked state in the Midwest in public safety, just ahead of Iowa

Minnesota outranked Wisconsin in almost everything 

Minnesota ranked third overall and placed higher than Wisconsin in nearly every category, with education being the only exception

The biggest gap between the two states was in the infrastructure category, with Minnesota ranking ninth and Wisconsin ranking 37th. Infrastructure was scored based on the quality of roads and bridges, internet access and renewable energy use

Wisconsin is on the right side of the natural environment split 

The Midwest and Great Plains regions are divided in rankings in the natural environment category. Wisconsin ranked 13th, behind Nebraska and North Dakota. Minnesota ranked 10th and South Dakota ranked second

But near the bottom of the list, Kansas ranked 39th, Ohio ranked 43rd and Illinois ranked 45th. Indiana took last place

The category was based on air and water quality and pollution. Wisconsin ranked 20th in air and water quality and 22nd in pollution. The state has 388 pounds of industrial toxins per square mile, far below the national average of 930 pounds. 

Wisconsin’s fiscal stability looks better long term than short term 

Wisconsin ranked 20th overall in fiscal stability due to having two different outlooks. Wisconsin has the 10th-best long term fiscal outlook in the country. In the short-term, it ranks 31st

The long-term fiscal stability ranking was based on government credit rating and the state’s ability to cover pension obligations

But the short-term fiscal stability ranking included liquidity and budget balancing. In the latter, Wisconsin ranked 41st out of the 50 states

Here’s how Wisconsin ranked in each category:

• Crime and corrections: 30th
• Economy: 29th
• Education: 5th
• Fiscal stability: 20th
• Healthcare: 22nd
• Infrastructure: 37th
• Natural environment: 13th
• Opportunity: 12th

What are the top US states, according to US News & World Report?

1. Utah
2. South Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. North Dakota
5. Nebraska
6. New Hampshire
7. Idaho
8. Florida
9. Washington
10. Vermont
11. Massachusetts
12. Iowa
13. North Carolina
14. Delaware
15. Wisconsin
16. Wyoming
17. Colorado
18. Connecticut
19. Virginia
20. New Jersey
21. Maryland
22. Georgia
23. New York
24. Kansas
25. Tennessee
26. Texas
27. Maine
28. Hawaii
29. Montana
30. Indiana
31. Missouri
32. South Carolina
33. Rhode Island
34. Arizona
35. California
36. Oklahoma
37. Illinois
38. Nevada
39. Oregon
40. Pennsylvania
41. Kentucky
42. Ohio
43. Alabama
44. West Virginia
45. Arkansas
46. Michigan
47. New Mexico
48. Mississippi
49. Alaska
50. Louisiana

Lance Schulteis can be reached at LSchulteis@usatodayco.com