Utah was named the nation’s best state for a record fourth straight year in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best States rankings released Monday. South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, Washington, and Vermont rounded out the top 10, while Louisiana finished last for the second consecutive year. The rankings evaluate all 50 states using 71 metrics across eight weighted categories. Education (15.79%) and healthcare (15.51%) carry the most weight, followed by economy (12.88%), infrastructure (12.74%), opportunity (12.2%), fiscal stability (12.19%), natural environment (9.69%), and crime and corrections (9.01%). The Midwest and New England were well represented throughout the rankings, with Midwestern states claiming four of the top five spots and placing near the top of several individual categories. Meanwhile, the bottom of the list remained largely unchanged from last year. According to U.S. News, the five lowest-ranked states were Michigan, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana. Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana held the bottom three spots for the second straight year, with Louisiana ranking in the bottom 10 across all eight categories, including last in crime and corrections.  In the 2026 rankings, Utah ranked second in economy and fiscal stability due to strong job growth and high labor force participation. Utah also ranked fourth in infrastructure, sixth in education, and seventh in crime and corrections. “We have a diversified economy … that gives us some kind of resilience,” Phil Dean, chief economist at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, told U.S. News. “We are the youngest state in the nation [which contributes to a] dynamism and a kind of excitement for new ideas.”