A new study from consumer spending site WalletHub recently ranked the “Best States to Live” across the country, with Idaho grabbing the top spot in the study. The other Mountain States scored relatively well, with Wyoming coming in sixth and Montana 14th, though Washington state ranked in the bottom half at 33rd.
The study identified five components that make the “Best Place to Live,” including: affordability, the economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. The methodology for the report will be discussed below.
Idaho scored top-10 marks in affordability, the economy, and safety, and was middle of the pack in education and health and quality of life.
Montana received good marks for its economy, ranking third behind Vermont and New Hampshire. Yet the state scored below-average rankings in quality of life and safety.
Wyoming ranked 2nd in safety behind New Jersey, and ranked 13th in affordability, but ranked in the middle for its economy and education and health. Quality of life ranked in the bottom third of states at 37th.
Washington state ranked 33rd overall, with good ranks in economy and quality of life, but below-average ranks in affordability and a dead-last rank in safety.
A time-series analysis reveals a trend over the last five years of data, with Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming generally improving in rankings while Washington state worsened.
Idaho’s biggest gains were found in affordability, education, and health, two areas likely to improve as time goes on. Idaho officials have flattened and lowered the state’s income tax over the last five years. On education, Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit has been wildly popular, with more than 13,500 students applying in the first year.
Montana is poised to improve its ranking in future years based on ongoing tax reforms. Mountain States Policy Center has encouraged Montana officials to flatten the income tax rate, and the Treasure State may do it next year, with Governor Gianforte announcing his desire for a flat income tax.
Wyoming improved in Education and health, quality of life and safety, while Montana did the same for safety. Washington’s numbers fell for the economy, education and health, which dropped its overall rank from 26th in 2022 to 33rd this year.
Here are the details on the methodology for the WalletHub categories.
Affordability: The authors placed the biggest weight on the cost of living and a significant weight on median property taxes; other factors include housing affordability, income, and homeownership.
Economy: WalletHub placed the biggest emphasis on debt per median earnings, but authors used 15 categories like bankruptcy rates, entrepreneurial activity, and growth in building permits to assess the state’s economy.
Education & Health: The authors placed the most weight on high school graduation rates on the education side, and obesity on the health side. Other factors for education include the share of the population with a high school diploma and higher, as well as the quality of public schools, while premature death rates, poor health rates, birth weights, and other factors comprised the health calculation.
Quality of Life: Weather is the top criterion, as authors gave it triple weight in scoring. Other major factors contributing to quality of life were traffic, access to public transportation, restaurant density, and fitness center density, while bike trails, commute times, hours worked, and road quality were also considered.
Safety Rank: Safety is comprised of just four factors, with property crime rates and law enforcement employees given double-weight. Violent crime rates were given full weight while traffic fatalities per capita were given half-weight.
Congratulations to Idaho for scoring the top spot and to Wyoming and Montana for continuing to improve their rankings. Hopefully, Washington officials will seek to stop the Evergreen State’s slide by focusing more on affordability and reducing tax burdens.
Bob Pishue is a policy fellow for the Mountain States Policy Center, an independent research organization based in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. Online at mountainstatespolicy.org.
