The John Locke Foundation, a North Carolinian think tank, created an index to rate the freedom of individual states. The ratings were determined by giving 50% weight to fiscal policy (a measure of taxation and budget policy), 20% to educational policy, 20% to regulatory policy, and 10% to health care policy:

The most free states in order from most free to 5 th most free are: Florida, Arizona, Indiana, South Dakota, and Georgia.

most free are: Florida, Arizona, Indiana, South Dakota, and Georgia. The least free states in order from worst to 5 th worse are: New York, New Jersey, California, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

worse are: New York, New Jersey, California, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The most fiscally free states are: South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada, Texas, and Florida.

The most educationally free states are: Florida, Arizona, Indiana, Georgia, and Louisiana.

The states most free from regulation are: Iowa, Georgia, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Vermont.

The states most free in health-care choice are: Idaho, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, and Indiana.

Source: John Locke Foundation, “First in Freedom Index,” February 2015.

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