Well, shoot.

First we're ranked among the least attractive states and now this?

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U.S. News and World Report says the latest edition of their Best States rankings project finds "a strong showing Midwest" - that excludes Michigan, apparently.

The project uses thousands of data points to capture how all 50 states serve their residents. To determine the ranking, the U.S. News team analyzes statistics tied to more than 70 metrics across eight categories, such as health care, education and natural environment.

And well, Michigan is in the bottom ten.

U.S. News and World Reports ranks the Mitten State at No. 41 out of all 50 states.

So why did Michigan do so poorly?

Here's a breakdown of Michigan's rankings in eight categories:

  • Healthcare - No. 20
  • Education - No. 37
  • Economy - No. 36
  • Infrastructure - No. 43
  • Opportunity - No. 21
  • Fiscal Stability - No. 37
  • Crime and Corrections - No. 35
  • Natural Environment - No. 36

The one I initially had a hard time with was "Natural Environment" - I mean, c'mon, Michigan is lovely! We're the Great Lakes State! However, it appears what they're measuring in this category is environmental pollution and its effects on public health... Ahhh, right - PFAS.

PFAS - Michigan.gov
PFAS - Michigan.gov
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Curious about the best state according to U.S. News? They say it's Utah, which has taken the No. spot after Washington held it for two years in a row.

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What's so great about Utah? According to U.S. News:

Buoyed by its top ranking in both the economy and fiscal stability categories, Utah unseated Washington at least in part because of consistency. The Beehive State finished in the top 15 in six of the eight categories measured by U.S. News, with a top 20 performance in another.

Here's the rest of the 10 Best States in the U.S.:

  1. Utah
  2. Washington
  3. Idaho
  4. Nebraska
  5. Minnesota
  6. New Hampshire
  7. Iowa
  8. Wisconsin
  9. Vermont
  10. Florida

The 10 Lowest Ranked States in the U.S. include:

50. Louisiana
49. Alaska
48. Mississippi
47. New Mexico
46. West Virginia
45. Arkansas
44. Alabama
43. Oklahoma
42. South Carolina
41. Michigan

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