Which States Will Be the Best Places to Live in the Future?
You may be happy with where you're living now, but what about in the years to come?
According to the findings of a new poll that focused on factors affecting our future health, well-being and finances, we might all want to just pack up and move to Utah.
To assess the future livability of 50 US states, Gallup interviewed more than 530,000 American adults about things like economic confidence, access to clean water, educational opportunities, job creation, and self-reported obesity rates.
Each state then received a ranking across each of the 13 metrics, which resulted in an averaged composite rank of between 1.0 (best) and 50.0 (worst).
Utah lead the pack with a score of 7.5, thanks to high scores in intellectual curiosity, a healthy work environment and low smoking rates. At the bottom was West Virginia, which scored 43.3 and ranked last in the country for five measures: economic confidence, new learning opportunities, ease of finding a safe place to exercise, obesity and smoking.
"Clearly, the future livability of any given state is not yet determined," Gallup officials said in a statement. "Leaders and residents alike have a keen opportunity right now to set the foundation for creating a place where people will want to live."
Here are the states people ranked as the best -- and worst -- places to live in the future, along with their scores.
BEST places to live in the future
- Utah: 7.5
- Minnesota: 10.5
- Colorado: 12.8
- Nebraska: 13.7
- North Dakota: 14.5
- Virginia: 16.8
- Iowa: 17.5
- Hawaii: 17.5
- South Dakota: 18.1
- Maryland: 18.5
worst places to live in the future
- Delaware: 32.5
- Ohio: 32.7
- Louisiana: 33.3
- Alabama: 33.5
- Florida: 33.9
- Arkansas: 33.9
- Nevada: 34.5
- Kentucky: 36.7
- Mississippi: 37.8
- West Virginia: 43.3