New Jersey has performed well, U.S. News found, coming in at No. 12 overall on the list.
The Garden State’s current spot moved seven slots above last year’s ranking (No. 19) and up two from 2017 (No. 14).
New Jersey also ranked in each category, coming in at No. 2 in education; No. 6 in health care; No. 6 in crimes and corrections; No. 8 in opportunity; No. 13. in natural environment; No. 31 in economy; No. 34 in infrastructure; and No. 49 in fiscal stability.
The Top 10 Best States, according to U.S. News:
1. Washington;
2. New Hampshire;
3. Minnesota;
4. Utah;
5. Vermont;
6. Maryland;
7. Virginia;
8. Massachusetts;
9. Nebraska;
10. Colorado.
The only other state ranked higher than New Jersey was Wisconsin (No. 11).
More weight was accorded to some metrics more than others, U.S. News said, based on an average of three years of data from a survey of more than 50,000 people. Health care (16%) and education (15.8%) were weighted most heavily, closely followed by economy (13.8%), infrastructure (12.9%), opportunity (12.7%), fiscal stability (10.5%), crime and corrections (9.9%), and natural environment (8.4%).