YouGov poll: Ranking of U.S. States by Americans

[ilovepaydays]

YouGov: All US States (plus DC) ranked from best to worst, according to Americans

This is getting a lot of discussion online today, so I thought it would be fun to discuss it here.

I get why many people like Hawaii the best, but I think that Colorado is more affordable and diverse in its beauty.

I live in Virginia (Arlington County), and I like living in the state a lot, but I wouldn’t necessarily put it at #3. Definitely top 10, though.

I would also rank Utah (#27) and New Mexico (#28) a bit higher but I really like outdoors stuff and the national parks there are gorgeous!

Also - IMHO, South Dakota (#44) > North Dakota (#37). The Badlands =

I agree with ranking North Carolina (#5) above South Carolina (#29), but not by 20+ spots.

at New Jersey and DC! Geesh!

What do you think about the rankings? Do you agree with where your state (or others) falls?

 

[mjb52]

I've had really good times in Alabama and Arkansas. So much of a place is what you make of it. If you are open-minded and interested in experiencing new things and learning about new places, you can enjoy yourself anywhere.

 

[ilovepaydays]

I've had really good times in Alabama and Arkansas. So much of a place is what you make of it. If you are open-minded and interested in experiencing new things and learning about new places, you can enjoy yourself anywhere.

Me too. I wasn’t surprised at how many people would rank them, but I thought that most of the Midwest and Southern states got unfairly ranked lower than they should have.

I grew up in Arkansas and I think it’s overall a great state to live in if you: 1) like the outdoors, 2) don’t need the amenities that’s in most cities, and 3) are lucky enough to get a well paying job there.

 

[MacMadame]

I grew up in Arkansas and I think it’s overall a great state to live in if you: 1) like the outdoors, 2) don’t need the amenities that’s in most cities, and 3) are lucky enough to get a well paying job there.

You forgot... and are white.

I can't believe CA is only 12th. When you talk to people, they rave about it and the residents are pretty loyal to it too.

 

[BlueRidge]

They can include DC in a poll like this when DC becomes a state.

Until then people were probably wondering why they were being asked about us. And its really not helpful to put out a ranking like this showing us last given that people don't think we're a state. Because we aren't.

 

[Cachoo]

You forgot... and are white.

I can't believe CA is only 12th. When you talk to people, they rave about it and the residents are pretty loyal to it too.

I wonder if that is political. People keep talking about a California exodus. I don't buy into it. I think you could find something about every state you might like or enjoy. And probably things you dislike as well.

 

[ilovepaydays]

I wonder if that is political. People keep talking about a California exodus. I don't buy into it. I think you could find something about every state you might like or enjoy. And probably things you dislike as well.

I think there had been an outflux from states like California, New York, etc., because those states have much higher state/local taxes and business regulations, but I think most of who would have left have already done so. I know there has been an influx into places like Colorado, Texas, the Atlanta metro (Georgia), and the Nashville (TN) area.

 

[MacMadame]

People keep talking about a California exodus.

It is true that for the first time in decades, more people left the state than moved in for the past 2 or 3 years. (Our population is still rising though due to births.) But I personally think it's temporary. Also, fewer people is better!

I think that these head to head contests are going to yield different results than other ways of ranking. Also, from what it sounds like, everyone got to rank every state. Most people haven't been to many states. (I've been to 40 of the 50. And D.C. But that's not average.) So what exactly are they ranking them on? Just things they've heard and their initial gut feelings, right?

Like if North Dakota was put against most states, I'd rank it lower because all I know about North Dakota is that it's very cold in the winter. If I'd actually been to the state, I might rank it higher assuming I liked what I saw.

 

[genevieve]

I don't really get this - what's the basis for comparison? Because I would vote differently about what's the best state to visit vs what's the best state to live in. I mean, Hawaii is beautiful and wonderful, but it surprises me that it's #1.

 

[MacMadame]

I don't really get this - what's the basis for comparison? Because I would vote differently about what's the best state to visit vs what's the best state to live in. I mean, Hawaii is beautiful and wonderful, but it surprises me that it's #1.

I did live in Hawaii but I chose to move because there are a lot of issues if you live there that tourists don't see. But I love to visit.

So, yeah, it depends on what people have decided to judge makes a state "better'.

 

[mjb52]

Thinking that racism only exists in Arkansas and not places like California is such a woke white person from California thing to say. Guess what... racism is a problem everywhere.

 

[Cachoo]

It is true that for the first time in decades, more people left the state than moved in for the past 2 or 3 years. (Our population is still rising though due to births.) But I personally think it's temporary. Also, fewer people is better!

I think that these head to head contests are going to yield different results than other ways of ranking. Also, from what it sounds like, everyone got to rank every state. Most people haven't been to many states. (I've been to 40 of the 50. And D.C. But that's not average.) So what exactly are they ranking them on? Just things they've heard and their initial gut feelings, right?

Like if North Dakota was put against most states, I'd rank it lower because all I know about North Dakota is that it's very cold in the winter. If I'd actually been to the state, I might rank it higher assuming I liked what I saw.

I would hear it on certain podcasts based in Texas and they would revel in the idea of the exodus from California and the state was becoming a terrible place to live without the fine services like we see in Texas. And then the cold snap occurred with frozen pipes exploding and $5,000 electric/gas bills and suddenly that talk evaporated. Interesting. Now they talk about secession. Whiners.

 

[quartz]

I was born in Iowa. That alone should boost it up by several notches. Proof that there is some fabulousness that has come from there.



(you couldn’t pay me to ever live there tho!)

 

[BlueRidge]

It says, "We asked people to choose the better of two states in a series of head-to-head matchups. States are rated based on their “win percentage”, that is: how often that state won the head-to-head matchup when it was one of the two states shown."

So it doesn't seem like it was anything but which state do you like better A or B? Kind of vague.

 

[once_upon]

It says, "We asked people to choose the better of two states in a series of head-to-head matchups. States are rated based on their “win percentage”, that is: how often that state won the head-to-head matchup when it was one of the two states shown."

So it doesn't seem like it was anything but which state do you like better A or B? Kind of vague.

And it seemed that people selected their own state much of the time.

 

[MacMadame]

Thinking that racism only exists in Arkansas and not places like California is such a woke white person from California thing to say. Guess what... racism is a problem everywhere.

Except I didn't say that racism only exists in Arkansas or that it doesn't exist in California. So what does that say about you that you decided me saying Arkansas isn't a bad place to live if you are white (something supported by data) means all those things?

 

[mjb52]

Except I didn't say that racism only exists in Arkansas or that it doesn't exist in California. So what does that say about you that you decided me saying Arkansas isn't a bad place to live if you are white (something supported by data) means all those things?

I don't want to get in an extended discussion about this, but contrast with what you had to say about CA in literally the same post: "I can't believe CA is only 12th. When you talk to people, they rave about it and the residents are pretty loyal to it too."

 

[MacMadame]

I don't want to get in an extended discussion about this, but contrast with what you had to say about CA in literally the same post: "I can't believe CA is only 12th. When you talk to people, they rave about it and the residents are pretty loyal to it too."

I didn't say that CA was wonderful though. I didn't say it was deserving to be higher. I said I was surprised because the way people talk about it suggests it would place higher.

The way this poll was set up makes it about people's perception. They don't even define what "better" is. As @BlueRidge points out, if you think of it as better to live in, you get one answer but if you think of it as better to visit, you get another. (And if you think of it as some nebulous how do I feel when I see the two names of states next to each other, you'd probably get a 3rd answer.)

So for years, the perception of CA has been that's a sunny place with lots of outdoor activities, beautiful tanned women in skimpy clothes rollerblading by the beach, the land of opportunity, tech bro millionaires (you could be the next one!), and don't forget Disneyland! Such a place would surely rank in the top 5, right?

Of course, it also matters how they picked the people to survey. California has the highest population of any state so if people favored their own states, then again you'd think it would be ranked higher.

Clearly, people's feelings about CA have changed. It's possible it's because of politics as suggested by @Cachoo. It's also possible that things like our wildfires have been in the news more making people revise their views of CA as not just pretty women at the beach and tech bro millionaires.

Less clearly, but possible, they didn't pick a representative sample so that the bias towards one's home state helped random states and not the biggest states. Florida is in the top 5 of states by population and also a sunny place that people vacation in (also WDW) and also was ranked lower than I expected given all those factors. Though it also has the Florida Man rep. Plus... Ted Cruz. (Isn't he the most hated man in Congress? I thought I read that somewhere.)

 

[Spikefan]

I would also pick different if it was best place to visit versus live. There are also some states that I would put at the bottom regardless just based on my experience visiting there (Mississippi) or how I perceive a state (North Dakota). Then you have a state like Wyoming, I would never want to live there but would rank it high to visit as I love the Tetons/Yellowstone (only a fraction of the state). I guess what I am saying is this is a poor poll.

 

[clairecloutier]

I’m sorry, but this poll is dumb. There’s no criteria for these rankings. This is meaningless info.

 

[Kasey]

I’m sorry, but this poll is dumb. There’s no criteria for these rankings. This is meaningless info.

Agreed. Although I love my state personally, I can't imagine what about it makes people vote it #4.

 

[MacMadame]

Agreed. Although I love my state personally, I can't imagine what about it makes people vote it #4.

Las Vegas, baby!

 

[skatingguy]

I’m sorry, but this poll is dumb. There’s no criteria for these rankings. This is meaningless info.

Did your state do poorly?

 

[MacMadame]

Did your state do poorly?

hey, I was born in Hawaii (#1) but I am not going to defend this poll.

I do think it's interesting what people think (vs. those lists that rank based on supposedly objective criteria) but the way they set it up makes it less interesting.

 

[CantALoop]

I think that these head to head contests are going to yield different results than other ways of ranking. Also, from what it sounds like, everyone got to rank every state. Most people haven't been to many states. (I've been to 40 of the 50. And D.C. But that's not average.) So what exactly are they ranking them on? Just things they've heard and their initial gut feelings, right?

I'm surprised at Hawai'i being on top too and I was born/raised/live here

The head-to-head matchup methodology is interesting. Reminds me of the short-lived "one-by-one" 6.0 system, but with tons of judges...some of which are uninformed

 

[CassAgain]

You forgot... and are white.

I can't believe CA is only 12th. When you talk to people, they rave about it and the residents are pretty loyal to it too.

I've lived almost my whole life in Arkansas, and MacMadame is right. Arkansas (or Darkansas as we've taken to call it lately) is not a good place to be. With Cotton as a senator and a absolute trash legislature, things are getting worse and worse. It is beautiful, though.

 

[taf2002]

This kind of poll is fun but doesn't mean much. It's all subjective. There are a lot of states I haven't even driven through so of course I won't pick them against a state that I'm familiar with, even if I wouldn't want to live in either. And I think most people have an idealized view of Hawaii because of its beauty in pictures so I'm not surprised it's on top. And if you live in a warm state you probably won't pick a cold state & vice versa. That said I'm fairly pleased that Texas is as high as #10.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Not sure when the poll was taken, but this may have helped VA's standing - or might even push it (you should pardon the pun) higher in the future:

Virginia lawmakers approve Northam’s push to speed up marijuana legalization

The governor says retail sales would not start until 2024.

www.nbc12.com

 

[VGThuy]

I find Louisiana to be a few places too high, like 10-15 places. Outsiders always equate New Orleans to Louisiana and they have this romanticized idea of the city. Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, but Louisiana needs WORK. Like an entire shift in thinking about things like education, social security, economy, health, and infrastructure.

 

[clairecloutier]

So here is a ranking of the best U.S. states to live in, this time according to metrics:

Best States to Live in

Best States to Live in

wallethub.com

The five category metrics considered are: Affordability, economy, health & education, quality of life, safety.

New Jersey comes in first (at which I feel a naughty glee, imagining the outrage of New Yorkers ). Massachusetts is second (take a bow, MA).

Looking at the criteria for safety, I kind of wish they took into account the liberality of gun laws in each state. It's something I will definitely be looking at in the future, should we move.