CNN’s Kasie Hunt slams U.S. News ranking after Michigan placed 46th overall

By

• Sam Jane | SJane@mlive.com

Kasie Huntdecided to stand up for her home state

The CNN host was not pleased with the latest U.S. News rankings, which placed as the Michigan 46th best state, putting it in the bottom five of the country

“New Jersey is ranked higher than Michigan. Give me a f’ing break,” Hunt said

US News published its 2026 Overall Best State Rankings on July 29. Each state was analyzed in eight categories: Education, health care, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, natural environment and crime and corrections

Michigan was placed in the bottom tier. The Mitten state ranked 24th in healthcare, 45th in education, 43rd in economy, 42nd in infrastructure, 38th in fiscal stability, 33rd in opportunity and 32nd in both crime and corrections and natural environment

Hunt, a Dearborn native, defended her home state on a Saturday, Aug. 1 CNN segment. She pointed out Michigander’s usage of the term “pop” over “soda, Vernors Ginger Ale and Michigan’s lakes

“If you have never been swimming in the Great Lakes, you’re missing out,” Hunt said. “It ruined every other lake in America for me.”

Meanwhile, Utah was the highest-ranked state. The rest of the top five was South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska

The lowest-ranked state was Louisiana. 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

Check out the rest of the list here:

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 Virgina
45. Arkansas
46. Michigan
47. New Mexico
48. Mississippi
49. Alaska
50. Louisiana