After a multi-year slip down the U.S. News & World Report “Best States” list, Washington moved up to No. 9 in latest edition released in late July, edging out last year’s 10th-place finish. It’s not quite back to the No. 2 ranking the state held in 2023, but its trend reversal is good news.
U.S. News builds its list using 71 different data points spanning eight categories: healthcare, education, the economy, crime and corrections, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, and the natural environment. Here’s how Washington fared in each:
- Natural environment: No. 7
- Education: No. 8
- Infrastructure: No. 8
- Healthcare: No. 14
- Economy: No. 19
- Crime and corrections: No. 26
- Fiscal stability: No. 26
- Opportunity: No. 34
Clean air, clean water, and low pollution levels earned the state its best finish, in the natural environment category. Education and infrastructure were just behind, though both hide a wide gap once you dig deeper into the specific data. Washington’s colleges and universities ranked No. 2 nationally, trailing only Florida, while K-12 schools, measured largely by test scores and graduation rates, came in at a middling No. 31. Infrastructure had a similar gap: the state’s energy grid and internet access both rated in the Top 10, but transportation networks lagged well behind at No. 30. Healthcare stayed steady across all its data points with solid scores for access, quality, and public health carrying it to No. 14.
Washington’s economy still beat out over half the country, buoyed by a strong business environment and healthy growth, but the unemployment subcategory, where the state sunk to No. 40, pulled the overall ranking down. A high rate of reported property theft and vandalism pulled the crime and corrections category to No. 26.
Fiscal stability produced the widest split of any category in the entire report. Washington ranked an impressive No. 3 for long-term financial health but fell to dead last — No. 50 — for short-term stability, a measure of budget balance and cash reserves. It’s the only spot on the list where Washington finished at the bottom.
Opportunity ended up as the state’s weakest overall category, at No. 34, and affordability is squarely to blame. The affordability subcategory, which weighs housing costs and overall cost of living, came in at No. 40, dragging down an otherwise respectable showing on economic opportunity and equality.
Looking at the rest of the country, Utah kept its grip on the top spot for a fourth straight year, cracking the Top 20 in six of eight categories; its one weak point was natural environment, where it ranked No. 48. Louisiana finished last for a fifth consecutive year, landing in the bottom 10 across every single category.
This post was based on information found on The Seattle Times.
