New Jersey Ranks Inside the Top 15 Best States, According to New List

A newly compiled list of the best states in America gives some validation to New Jersey, which ranks inside the Top 15.

U.S. News' 2024 list reportedly shows improvement for the Garden State. New Jersey was five slots lower on the list last year.

via GIPHY

How Does New National List Rank the State of New Jersey?

Now in its 8th year, U.S. News' 'Best States' list ranks states based on the following eight criteria:

• Crime and Corrections
• Economy
• Education
• Fiscal Stability
• Health Care
• Infrastructure
• Natural Environment
• Opportunity

According to U.S. News, 'The analysis encompasses thousands of data points across 71 metrics in eight categories to capture how the 50 states serve their residents.'

For the second straight year, Utah ranks as the #1 state in America, followed by New Hampshire, and Nebraska, with Minnesota and Iowa rounding out the Top 5.

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So, where does that leave New Jersey?

New Jersey Makes New List of Top 15 Best States in America

Well, we're not the first but we're not the worst!

U.S. News' research and collective data ranks New Jersey the 14th best state overall.

It's not all good news in the Garden State, though. Here's how New Jersey scored in individual areas:

• Health Care, 4th Best in U.S.
• Education, 4th Best in U.S.
• Crime & Corrections, 5th Best in U.S.
• Infrastructure, Ranked 16th
• Economy, Ranked 24th
• Environment, Ranked 24th
• Opportunity, Ranked 43rd
• Fiscal Stability, 3rd Worst in U.S.

So, even though New Jersey is good at taking care of patients, students, and prisoners, the state does not offer residents much upward mobility.

Nearby, Delaware ranks 21st best state overall, New York the 23rd, and Pennsylvania way down the list at #40.

In case you were wondering about the 5 worst states in America, U.S. News ranks those as being Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi, Arkansas, and West Virginia.