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1 / 15#15. Maine
- Total score: 54.78 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #34
- Economy rank: #18
- Education & health rank: #11
- Quality of life rank: #25
- Safety rank: #14
15 best states in America to live in, according to data
Where you live has a way of affecting almost every part of your daily life. It determines how much of your paycheck disappears into housing, what your commute looks like, the quality of the nearby schools, and how easily you can see a doctor when you need one. Moving across state lines can change all of that before you've even unpacked the boxes.
Of course, there isn't one definition of what makes a place great to live. Someone trying to buy their first home may care most about affordability, while a family could put schools and safety at the top of the list. Others are following jobs, looking for better health care, or even just hoping to land somewhere where everyday life feels a bit easier. The best states tend to get more than one of those things right.
For this list, we turned to WalletHub's 2026 Best States to Live In ranking, which compared all 50 states using 51 different metrics. The analysis looked at five broad areas: affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety, to see which states offer residents the strongest overall combination of conditions.
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2 / 15#14. Montana
- Total score: 55.64 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #26
- Economy rank: #3
- Education & health rank: #18
- Quality of life rank: #30
- Safety rank: #34
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3 / 15#13. Virginia
- Total score: 55.98 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #15
- Economy rank: #29
- Education & health rank: #9
- Quality of life rank: #23
- Safety rank: #23
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4 / 15#12. New York
- Total score: 57.12 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #47
- Economy rank: #22
- Education & health rank: #16
- Quality of life rank: #1
- Safety rank: #7
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5 / 15#11. Iowa
- Total score: 57.41 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #22
- Economy rank: #20
- Education & health rank: #15
- Quality of life rank: #16
- Safety rank: #12
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6 / 15#10. Florida
- Total score: 57.48 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #32
- Economy rank: #17
- Education & health rank: #24
- Quality of life rank: #3
- Safety rank: #11
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7 / 15#9. Pennsylvania
- Total score: 57.71 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #29
- Economy rank: #30
- Education & health rank: #20
- Quality of life rank: #4
- Safety rank: #10
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8 / 15#8. Minnesota
- Total score: 57.94 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #14
- Economy rank: #32
- Education & health rank: #2
- Quality of life rank: #12
- Safety rank: #26
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9 / 15#7. Utah
- Total score: 58.63 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #8
- Economy rank: #13
- Education & health rank: #5
- Quality of life rank: #29
- Safety rank: #19
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10 / 15#6. Wyoming
- Total score: 58.71 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #13
- Economy rank: #19
- Education & health rank: #29
- Quality of life rank: #37
- Safety rank: #2
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11 / 15#5. New Hampshire
- Total score: 58.89 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #40
- Economy rank: #2
- Education & health rank: #3
- Quality of life rank: #36
- Safety rank: #4
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12 / 15#4. Massachusetts
- Total score: 59.28 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #44
- Economy rank: #12
- Education & health rank: #1
- Quality of life rank: #6
- Safety rank: #6
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13 / 15#3. Wisconsin
- Total score: 59.32 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #30
- Economy rank: #10
- Education & health rank: #10
- Quality of life rank: #14
- Safety rank: #8
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14 / 15#2. New Jersey
- Total score: 59.41 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #49
- Economy rank: #24
- Education & health rank: #7
- Quality of life rank: #9
- Safety rank: #1
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15 / 15#1. Idaho
- Total score: 60.15 out of 100
- Affordability rank: #10
- Economy rank: #7
- Education & health rank: #22
- Quality of life rank: #31
- Safety rank: #3
