The United States of America — the land of the free. But apparently, not all freedom is created equal.

The Cato Institute released its 2016 rankings for "Freedom in the 50 States." The authors look at a wide range of indicators that fall into three broad categories: fiscal policy, regulatory policy and personal freedom.

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Each indicator is weighted differently. For example, state taxes, local taxes, government subsidies and government debt are the only four indicators affecting the fiscal policy ranking. But there are about 100 indicators that go into the personal freedom ranking. It includes everything from cigarette taxes and marijuana laws to incarceration rates and local gun bans.

Click through the entire ranking of states here:

50 PHOTOS Freedom rankings of all 50 states See Gallery Freedom rankings of all 50 states 50. New York Fiscal freedom: #50

Personal freedom: #29

Regulatory freedom: #50 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Getty Images) 49. California Fiscal freedom: #46

Personal freedom: #16

Regulatory freedom: #48 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Shutterstock) 48. Hawaii Fiscal freedom: #49

Personal freedom: #37

Regulatory freedom: #41 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Marcin Moryc via Getty Images) 47. New Jersey Fiscal freedom: #40

Personal freedom: #27

Regulatory freedom: #47 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Jerome Gorin via Getty Images) 46. Maryland Fiscal freedom: #34

Personal freedom: #26

Regulatory freedom: #49 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Julie Thurston via Getty Images) 45. Connecticut Fiscal freedom: #44

Personal freedom: #15

Regulatory freedom: #46 Change from 2012: -1 (Photo via Denis Jr. Tangney via Getty Images) 44. Illinois Fiscal freedom: #48

Personal freedom: #20

Regulatory freedom: #40 Change from 2012: +1 (Photo via Rudy Balasko via Shutterstock) 43. Rhode Island Fiscal freedom: #38

Personal freedom: #17

Regulatory freedom: #45 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Shutterstock) Fiscal freedom: xx

Personal freedom: xx

Regulatory freedom: xx Change from 2012: xx (Photo via ) 42. Maine Fiscal freedom: #43

Personal freedom: #4

Regulatory freedom: #44 Change from 2012: -1 (Photo via Getty Images) 41. Kentucky Fiscal freedom: #28

Personal freedom: #50

Regulatory freedom: #28 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via ) 40. Vermont Fiscal freedom: #47

Personal freedom: #10

Regulatory freedom: #32 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Donald Landwehrle via Getty Images) 39. West Virginia Fiscal freedom: #31

Personal freedom: #22

Regulatory freedom: #42 Change from 2012: +3 (Photo via Richard Nowitz via Getty Images) 38. Minnesota Fiscal freedom: #45

Personal freedom: #8

Regulatory freedom: #34 Change from 2012: +2 (Photo via Walter Bibikow via Getty Images) 37. Oregon Fiscal freedom: #39

Personal freedom: #18

Regulatory freedom: #36 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Anna Gorin via Getty Images) 36. Mississippi Fiscal freedom: #41

Personal freedom: #47

Regulatory freedom: #11 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Richard Cummins via Getty Images) 35. Ohio Fiscal freedom: #24

Personal freedom: #44

Regulatory freedom: #31 Change from 2012: +1 (Photo via Henryk Sadura via Getty Images) 34. Louisiana Fiscal freedom: #19

Personal freedom: #39

Regulatory freedom: #35 Change from 2012: -4 (Photo via Getty Images) 33. Massachusetts Fiscal freedom: #36

Personal freedom: #11

Regulatory freedom: #39 Change from 2012: -4 (Photo via Getty Images) 32. Washington Fiscal freedom: #35

Personal freedom: #5

Regulatory freedom: #43 Change from 2012: -1 (Photo via Getty Images) 31. Delaware Fiscal freedom: #29

Personal freedom: #31

Regulatory freedom: #33 Change from 2012: +6 (Photo via Getty Images) 30. New Mexico Fiscal freedom: #42

Personal freedom: #1

Regulatory freedom: #38 Change from 2012: +3 (Photo via Bob Stefko via Getty Images) 29. Arkansas Fiscal freedom: #27

Personal freedom: #41

Regulatory freedom: #21 Change from 2012: -1 (Photo via Wesley Hitt via Getty Images) 28. Texas Fiscal freedom: #10

Personal freedom: #49

Regulatory freedom: #27 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Getty Images) 27. Wisconsin Fiscal freedom: #37

Personal freedom: #25

Regulatory freedom: #19 Change from 2012: -7 (Photo via Henryk Sadura via Getty Images) 26. Pennsylvania Fiscal freedom: #13

Personal freedom: #23

Regulatory freedom: #37 Change from 2012: +1 (Photo via Getty Images) 25. Nebraska Fiscal freedom: #22

Personal freedom: #2

Regulatory freedom: #25 Change from 2012: -7 (Photo via Shutterstock) 24. Michigan Fiscal freedom: #18

Personal freedom: #38

Regulatory freedom: #16 Change from 2012: -7 (Photo via Getty Images) 23. Alabama Fiscal freedom: #6

Personal freedom: #48

Regulatory freedom: #18 Change from 2012: -4 (Photo via Getty Images) 22. Georgia Fiscal freedom: #14

Personal freedom: #43

Regulatory freedom: #15 Change from 2012: -7 (Photo via Henryk Sadura via Getty Images) 21. Virginia Fiscal freedom: #12

Personal freedom: #34

Regulatory freedom: #23 Change from 2012: +3 (Photo via Getty Images) 20. Utah Fiscal freedom: #20

Personal freedom: #33

Regulatory freedom: #9 Change from 2012: +2 (Photo via Getty Images) 19. North Carolina Fiscal freedom: #17

Personal freedom: #13

Regulatory freedom: #26 Change from 2012: +4 (Photo via Getty Images) 18. Missouri Fiscal freedom: #9

Personal freedom: #28

Regulatory freedom: #24 Change from 2012: -6 (Photo via Shutterstock) 17. Montana Fiscal freedom: #7

Personal freedom: #21

Regulatory freedom: #30 Change from 2012: +4 (Photo via Getty Images) 16. Kansas Fiscal freedom: #3

Personal freedom: #24

Regulatory freedom: #4 Change from 2012: +9 (Photo via John Coletti via Getty Images) 15. South Carolina Fiscal freedom: #23

Personal freedom: #19

Regulatory freedom: #13 Change from 2012: +5 (Photo via Getty Images) 14. Wyoming Fiscal freedom: #21

Personal freedom: #32

Regulatory freedom: #3 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Getty Images) 13. North Dakota Fiscal freedom: #15

Personal freedom: #35

Regulatory freedom: #6 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Getty Images) 12. Nevada Fiscal freedom: #25

Personal freedom: #3

Regulatory freedom: #22 Change from 2012: -2 (Photo via Andrew Zarivny via Shutterstock) 11. Colorado Fiscal freedom: #22

Personal freedom: #2

Regulatory freedom: #25 Change from 2012: +2 (Photo via Getty Images) 10. Arizona Fiscal freedom: #16

Personal freedom: #14

Regulatory freedom: #17 Change from 2012: +6 (Photo via Jaap Hart via Getty Images) 9. Iowa Fiscal freedom: #30

Personal freedom: #12

Regulatory freedom: #5 Change from 2012: -3 (Photo via Getty Images) 8. Florida Fiscal freedom: #4

Personal freedom: #36

Regulatory freedom: #20 Change from 2012: -1 (Photo via Philip Lange via Getty Images) 7. Idaho Fiscal freedom: #8

Personal freedom: #45

Regulatory freedom: #1 Change from 2012: +1 (Photo via Charles Knowles via Shutterstock) 6. Tennessee Fiscal freedom: #2

Personal freedom: #42

Regulatory freedom: #14 Change from 2012: -3 (Photo via Alamy) 5. South Dakota Fiscal freedom: #3

Personal freedom: #46

Regulatory freedom: #7 Change from 2012: -4 (Photo via Getty Images) 4. Indiana Fiscal freedom: #26

Personal freedom: #6

Regulatory freedom: #2 Change from 2012: 0 (Photo via Getty Images) 3. Oklahoma Fiscal freedom: #5

Personal freedom: #30

Regulatory freedom: #10 Change from 2012: +2 (Photo via Walter Bibikow via Getty Images) 2. Alaska Fiscal freedom: #11

Personal freedom: #7

Regulatory freedom: #12 Change from 2012: +7 (Photo via Sam Diephuis via Getty Images) 1. New Hampshire Fiscal freedom: #1

Personal freedom: #9

Regulatory freedom: #29 Change from 2012: +1 (Photo via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

By their ranking, New York is the least free state in the nation, and its fiscal policy is mostly to blame. The authors write, "New York's local tax burden is twice that of the average state [and] debt is the highest in the country."

The other states rounding out the bottom five include California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Maryland.

South Dakota, Indiana, Oklahoma, Alaska and New Hampshire are considered the most free states in the country.

New Hampshire nabbed the top spot, thanks to both personal and economic freedom. The authors report the state has low incarceration rates and drug arrests, and they call it "one of the best states in the country for gun rights."

RELATED: State government tax collections per capita

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