12 Most Livable States: 2024

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Americans who are thinking of relocating to another state have a lot to consider before loading the moving van because each has its own benefits and disadvantages.

A new study from the personal finance website WalletHub finds that some states stand out with the benefits they offer, while others are more notable for their drawbacks.

“When deciding on a place to move, you should first consider financial factors like the cost of living, housing prices and job availability,” Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.

Happe noted, however, that many states have strong economies, so a wide variety of other factors come into play, such as health and safety considerations and whether there is adequate access to preferred activities. “If you have children, a robust education system is also key.”

In order to determine the best and worst places to live in, WalletHub compared the 50 states across these key dimensions:

Affordability, including cost of living, median annual property taxes and homeownership rate
Economy, including median debt per median earnings, entrepreneurial activity, job opportunities and general tax friendliness
Education and health, including high school graduation rate, share of insured population and quality of public hospital system
Quality of life, including weather, access to public transportation, fitness centers per capita and air quality
Safety, including total law-enforcement employees per capita, property-crime rate and traffic-related fatalities per capita

Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 51 relevant metrics, and graded each one on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable living conditions.

See the gallery for the 12 best states to live in, according to WalletHub.

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