In this mobile world, we have more choices than ever about where to live. Companies in search of skilled workers know this, especially when there are far more open positions than there are workers available to fill them. That is why they consider quality of life when deciding where to locate.
CNBC’s annual ranking of state business climates, America’s Top States for Business, considers it too. Under this year’s methodology, the Quality of Life category makes up 13% of a state’s overall score.
We rate each state on multiple aspects of livability including crime rates, health care, air quality and child care. We also consider worker protections and legal safeguards against discrimination of all kinds. And we look at personal freedom including reproductive rights, with surveys showing large majorities of working-age women would not move to a state that bans abortion.
Some states appear to thumb their noses at potential new talent, but not these states. They are rolling out the red carpet big time with the best quality of life.
9. (tie) New York
You read that right. The Empire State isn’t perfect, but workers here enjoy broad protections under state law, according to Oxfam America. That includes a nearly unfettered right to organize, a $15 minimum wage — nearly twice the federal minimum — and the ability for more expensive localities to set theirs higher.
New Yorkers of all stripes also enjoy strong protections against discrimination, including one of the nation’s most comprehensive public accommodation laws.
There are issues, however. Crime ticked up in 2022, according to the most recent full-year data made available by the FBI, with the violent crime rate exceeding the national rate for the first time since 2015. And the state is suffering from a severe shortage of affordable child care. A married couple with a median income can expect to pay nearly 15% of it on child care, according to Child Care Aware of America. New York has only about 4,200 licensed child-care facilities, despite a population of nearly 20 million people.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 211 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B)
Strengths: Worker Protections, Inclusiveness, Reproductive Rights
Weaknesses: Child Care, Air Quality
9. (tie) New Hampshire
If you want safe streets and great health care, the Granite State is rock solid. With only about 1,700 violent offenses reported in the entire state in 2022 — and just 25 homicides — the crime rate is about as low as they get.
New Hampshire is America’s healthiest state, according to the United Health Foundation. More than 90% of residents have a dedicated health-care provider, and the state has among the lowest rates of premature death.
However, voting rights are limited. According to the Center for Election Innovation and Research, New Hampshire is one of only three states that does not allow early voting, and residents need to provide a qualified excuse to vote by mail.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 211 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B)
Strengths: Crime, Health Care, Inclusiveness
Weakness: Voting Rights
9. (tie) Massachusetts
With 322 primary care providers for every 100,000 residents — the most in the nation — and the lowest rate of uninsured residents, the Bay State is close behind New Hampshire as America’s second-healthiest state.
Massachusetts workers enjoy the strongest protections in New England, and among the strongest in the nation, including mandatory sick leave and family leave.
But child care for those workers, while readily available, is expensive, requiring more than 14% of median income for a married couple. Air pollution is also a persistent problem in the state, with roughly a third of the state dealing with high levels of particulate matter, according to First Street Foundation.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 211 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B)
Strengths: Health, Worker Protections, Voting Rights, Reproductive Rights
Weaknesses: Child Care, Air Quality
9. (tie) Connecticut
Like most of its New England neighbors, Connecticut’s biggest strength is one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. At 150 offenses per 100,000 people in 2022, Connecticut crime is less than half the national average — notable in a state that has five cities with populations over 100,000.
Worker protections are strong. At the low end of the wage scale, the state’s $15 minimum wage covers more than 37% of a working family’s cost of living. And the state requires pay transparency, giving all workers more leverage.
But another thing Connecticut has in common with other New England states is air pollution, particularly in terms of particulate matter.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 211 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B)
Strengths: Crime, Worker Protections, Health Care
Weakness: Air Quality
8. California
The California Dream is alive, and inclusive state laws ensure that it is available to all in the Golden State. But that doesn’t mean that everyone is living the dream. Crime is well above the national average, with nearly 500 offenses per 100,000 people in 2022. And air quality is the worst in the nation, including high ozone, and particulate matter from wildfire smoke.
But no state protects its workers the way California does, with strong rights to organize for public and private sector employees, and strong pay transparency laws. The state’s minimum wage, which increased to $16 an hour in 2024, is second only to Washington State (third, if you include the District of Columbia).
Voting in California is among the easiest in the nation, with every registered voter receiving a mail-in ballot. And the state prides itself on its support of reproductive rights, even passing a law to allow providers in Arizona — where abortion is severely restricted — to perform the procedure in the state next door.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 213 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B)
Strengths: Worker Protections, Inclusiveness, Voting Rights, Reproductive Rights
Weaknesses: Crime, Air Quality, Child Care, Health Care
7. Hawaii
The Aloha State is still America’s paradise, and Hawaiians’ reverence for the environment is unrivaled. Air quality is pristine.
But as child care has become increasingly important to working families nationwide, the state is not keeping up. In a state where practically everything is expensive, a married couple with a median income can expect to spend 18% of it on child care — easily the highest in the nation.
But crime is low, worker protections are strong, and Hawaii is one of the healthiest states in the nation. Only Idaho has a lower rate of preventable hospitalizations.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 222 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B+)
Strengths: Health, Air Quality, Crime
Weakness: Child Care
6. Oregon
No state protects reproductive rights more than Oregon. It is one of only a handful of states that do not restrict abortion based on gestational duration, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Oregon is the easiest state to vote in, according to elections researcher Michael Pomante of the States United Democracy Institute. Long before the pandemic, Oregon was conducting its elections by mail, with fraud practically nonexistent, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
But the Beaver State falters on child care. With 1,372 licensed facilities in a state of 4.2 million people, access to child care is in line with the national average. But it is expensive in Oregon — about 15% of the median income for a married couple.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 226 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B+)
Strengths: Reproductive Rights, Voting Rights, Inclusiveness
Weaknesses: Child Care, Crime
5. Washington
Washington guarantees the second-highest minimum wage of any state, at $16.28 an hour (the District of Columbia’s is higher at $17). It is one aspect of a large suite of worker protections, from paid sick leave to heat safety standards. Environmental quality is excellent, with clean air and water. And the state offers broad protections against discrimination.
But, more than any other state, the Evergreen State has a child-care crisis. The state of nearly eight million people has only about 2,000 licensed child-care facilities. A married couple with a median income can expect to pay more than 15% of it on child care. Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who has called the need “dire,” last year signed the latest attempt at a legislative fix — a bill that removes some restrictions on child-care centers.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 230 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: B+)
Strengths: Inclusiveness, Worker Protections, Voting Rights
Weaknesses: Child Care, Crime
4. Minnesota
“Minnesota nice” is not just a catchphrase. We found the data to back it up. State laws are inclusive, with strong protections for voting rights and reproductive rights. The home of the legendary Mayo Clinic offers some of America’s best health care. With a low rate of preventable deaths and relatively few residents without health insurance, the North Star State is America’s fifth-healthiest.
But Minnesota is another state where child care is unaffordable, costing 14.5% of the median income for a married couple.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 240 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: A-)
Strengths: Voting Rights, Reproductive Rights, Health, Crime
Weakness: Child Care
3. New Jersey
Put away your Jersey jokes. The Garden State is one of the safest in America. Violent crime did tick up slightly in 2022, but it was still far below the national average: about 200 offenses per 100,000 people in New Jersey in 2022, versus 380 nationally.
New Jersey is an inclusive state, with the second most comprehensive anti-discrimination protections in the nation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. New Jersey vigorously protects reproductive rights, and worker protections are solid.
However, one New Jersey stereotype that does track is its air quality, with high levels of pollution.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 248 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: A-)
Strengths: Crime, Inclusiveness, Worker Protections, Reproductive Rights
Weakness: Air Quality
2. Maine
The Pine Tree State is America’s safest, with just 29 homicides in the whole state in 2022. Child care is readily available with 830 licensed facilities in a state of 1.3 million people, and it is affordable at about 10% of the median income for a married couple.
Health care is abundant, too. Nearly 92% of adult Mainers have a dedicated health-care provider — more than any other state.
State laws are inclusive, and worker protections are strong. However, like nearly all its neighbors in the Northeast, air quality could be better. Some 20% of properties in the state are exposed to high levels of particulate matter in the air, according to First Street Foundation.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 265 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: A)
Strengths: Crime, Child Care, Health Care, Inclusiveness
Weakness: Air Quality
1. Vermont
What was that about poor air quality in the Northeast? Here in Vermont, you will breathe the freshest air of any state in the region, and the second-cleanest in the nation (after West Virginia). Ozone pollution was pretty much non-existent last year, according to the American Lung Association. The Green Mountain State truly is green.
Reproductive rights are zealously protected, and they are enshrined in the state constitution. Vermont is one of the easiest states to vote in, with 45 days of early voting. Child care is more readily available here than it is in any other state, though it is on the pricey side.
Perhaps Vermont’s clean environment and welcoming nature help put people at ease, because the crime rate is low, too, here in the state with America’s best quality of life.
2024 Quality of Life Score: 281 out of 325 points (Top States Grade: A+)
Strengths: Reproductive Rights, Air Quality, Crime, Voting Rights, Inclusiveness
Weaknesses: No metrics below the top 50%.
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