Hawaii ranks 17th in U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best States’

Hawaii ranked 17th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best States Ranking released this week based on more 75 metrics, including health care, education, economy and quality of life.

Health care and education were weighted most heavily, but state economies, opportunity and infrastructure were also important measures, in addition to crime, government fiscal stability and quality of life.

Iowa ranked as No. 1 best state, followed by Minnesota, Utah, North Dakota and New Hampshire. Louisiana was at the bottom of the list, at No. 50.

“At a time when the federal government is attempting to hand more responsibility for spending and policymaking to the states, these rankings offer the first comprehensive view, state by state, of how some states already are performing best,” said U.S. News & World Report. “This highly interactive platform enables users to explore thousands of important benchmarks and easily draw state-to-state comparisons.”

Hawaii ranked No. 1 in health care, No. 3 in Internet access and 29th in education. However, it ranked near the bottom, at No. 49, for business environment. Under the category of infrastructure, it ranked No. 48 for road quality and No. 50 for electricity costs, with the highest average prices in the nation.

U.S. News & World Report lauded the Aloha State for its “diverse scenery and mild temperatures” as well as its residents’ “friendliness and hospitality.”

Data for the rankings, provided by McKinsey & Co.’s Leading State Index, were drawn from governmental and private sources as well as proprietary data including a national survey of what matters most to citizens around the country.