Utah has secured the number one spot in the newly released 2026 Overall Best State Rankings by US News, while Louisiana has been ranked as the lowest-performing state in the nation.
The top tier of this year's rankings features Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska as the five best states in the country. Conversely, the states ranking at the bottom of the list include Arkansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana.
To compile the rankings, researchers assigned points out of 100 within each category, with the top-performing state receiving 100 points and the lowest-performing receiving zero. Certain categories carried more weight in the final calculation; for instance, health care and education were given greater priority than crime and corrections and the natural environment. Additionally, the study incorporated public sentiment, drawing on surveys of more than 56,000 residents across the United States conducted between 2018 and 2025 to gauge satisfaction with state performance.
Utah's rise to the top of the overall rankings was driven by strong performances in several key areas. The state secured the No. 2 position for both economy and fiscal stability, while also ranking No. 4 for infrastructure, No. 6 for education, and No. 7 for crime and corrections. However, Utah showed room for improvement in other sectors, landing at No. 18 for health care, No. 24 for opportunity, and No. 48 for natural environment.
In contrast, Louisiana's last-place finish at No. 50 reflected low rankings across nearly all evaluated categories. The state placed No. 43 for fiscal stability, No. 45 for both health care and opportunity, and No. 46 for infrastructure and education. Louisiana struggled the most in the remaining categories, ranking No. 49 for both economy and natural environment, and finishing dead last at No. 50 for crime and corrections.
Interested in seeing where your state fell on the list? Here's a look at this year's rankings.
Here's a closer look at how US News ranked each of the 50 states:
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