U.S. News & World Report released a ranking of the best and worst states according to 70 metrics measuring the quality of life afforded to their denizens.

Among the best were Washington state, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.

Here are the Top 10 states according to the ranking:

Washington New Hampshire Minnesota Utah Vermont Maryland Virginia Massachusetts Nebraska Colorado

Among the worst states were Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Here's a list of the bottom worst states, according to the ranking:

50. Louisiana

49. Alabama

48. Mississippi

47. West Virginia

46. New Mexico

45. Arkansas

44. Alaska

43. Oklahoma

42. South Carolina

41. Pennsylvania

40. Kentucky



Washington state ranked very high in metrics measuring infrastructure, the economy, education, and health care.

Louisiana, the worst state, ranked very low in metrics of natural environment, crime and corrections, opportunity, and nearly every other measure.

The overall score was weighted in favor of the health care and education metrics, which were favored most according to a poll of what matters most to people.

The entire ranking of all 50 states is available here, with an interactive platform and a comprehensive explanation of how the rankings were computed.

Here's a report of the rankings from 2017: