Best States to Live in the U.S. 2026-2027
Built for people still choosing where to live, this tool ranks all 50 states on 40 measures of daily life aggregated statewide, weighted by common importance until you set your own. No other ranking runs on this much data or lets you re-weight all of it; the full methodology covers how each measure is built. With a state in mind, use the metro, city, or town tabs above, or the best neighborhoods pages, which map every preference down to the block for free.
New Hampshire
- #1 crime safety
- #14 cost of living vs income
- #22 school grade
- #39 walkability
- #46 nice weather
- #41 short commute
Massachusetts
- #4 crime safety
- #20 cost of living vs income
- #17 school grade
- #5 walkability
- #42 nice weather
- #47 short commute
Utah
- #6 crime safety
- #6 cost of living vs income
- #23 school grade
- #19 walkability
- #14 nice weather
- #10 short commute
Idaho
- #3 crime safety
- #29 cost of living vs income
- #13 school grade
- #29 walkability
- #13 nice weather
- #9 short commute
Maine
- #2 crime safety
- #40 cost of living vs income
- #1 school grade
- #42 walkability
- #39 nice weather
- #23 short commute
Iowa
- #8 crime safety
- #15 cost of living vs income
- #3 school grade
- #20 walkability
- #21 nice weather
- #8 short commute
Wyoming
- #5 crime safety
- #26 cost of living vs income
- #10 school grade
- #33 walkability
- #6 nice weather
- #3 short commute
Minnesota
- #17 crime safety
- #2 cost of living vs income
- #15 school grade
- #16 walkability
- #12 nice weather
- #14 short commute
Hawaii
- #7 crime safety
- #50 cost of living vs income
- #28 school grade
- #8 walkability
- #5 nice weather
- #35 short commute
Virginia
- #20 crime safety
- #4 cost of living vs income
- #4 school grade
- #31 walkability
- #38 nice weather
- #42 short commute
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How the ranking works
Each place is scored on 40 measures, from crime cost and school grades to commute time, air quality, taxes, and what local pay buys after the cost of living. Scores are absolute, not curved: a 60 for schools means the same real thing in every place, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. A measure with no data for a place is left out and the remaining weights are rebalanced, so a gap never counts as a zero.
The default order uses a general-purpose weighting. It is a starting point, not a verdict. Move any measure up or down in and every tier re-sorts to your priorities. Read how each measure is built, source by source, in the methodology.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.