Compiled by Stephanie Sadowski | ssadowski@pennlive.com

The second annual 2018 Best States study from U.S. News & World Report -- the global authority in rankings and civic journalism -- is out.

Bad news: Iowa is the best state, according to the study.

More bad news: Pennsylvania ranks worst in the subcategories of higher education and corrections.

U.S. News evaluated all 50 states across a range of criteria, from education and health care to infrastructure and the economy, to capture how states best serve their citizens.

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Here's what goes into the rankings:

Health care: 16%

Education: 16%

Economy: 14%

Opportunity: 13%

Infrastructure: 12%

Crime & Corrections: 11%

Fiscal Stability: 10%

Quality of Life: 8%

You can read the full methodology here.

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First off, here are the top 10 cities.

1. Iowa

2. Minnesota

3. Utah

4. North Dakota

5. New Hampshire

6. Washington

7. Nebraska

8. Massachusetts

9. Vermont

10. Colorado

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Here are the bottom 10:

41. Kentucky

42. South Carolina

43. Oklahoma

44. Alaska

45. Arkansas

46. Alabama

47. West Virginia

48. New Mexico

49. Mississippi

50. Louisiana

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Here's where Pennsylvania ranks overall:

We rank 38th overall out of the 50 states. Michigan is 37, and Arizona is 39.

You can get the full rankings here.

We break down Pennsylvania's ranking in each category below.

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OVERALL HEALTH CARE: Pa. is 23

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Hawaii is ranked the best state for health care. Mississippi is the worst. Pennsylvania is a solid 23.

Here's what's considered:

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Health care access (33%): 11th

Pennsylvania is No. 11.

Six metrics contributed to the rankings: child wellness visits, health insurance enrollment, adult wellness visits, adult dental visits, child dental visits and health care affordability.

Massachusetts ranks first; Alaska is last.

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Health care quality (33%): 26th

Pennsylvania is No. 26.

This metric evaluates the hospital readmission rate

Hawaii is first; Mississippi is last

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Public health (33%): 32nd

Pennsylvania is No. 32.

This metric measures the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015. The infants could have died at any point before their first birthday.

California is best; Mississippi is last.

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EDUCATION: Pa. is 38

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Massachusetts is the best. New Mexico is the worst. Pennsylvania is a solid 38th.

Here is what's considered:

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Higher education (50%): We are the worst.

Pennsylvania is the worst. Florida is the best.

The metrics involved include the shares of citizens in each state holding college degrees, with wide variances found among the states and regionally.

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Pre-K through 12 education (50%): 11th

Pennsylvania is No. 11.

"Half the weighting in evaluating education goes to pre-K through 12th grade. Overall, the generation progressing through school now is the most educated ever. In the 2016 Census, the source of this data, almost 90 percent of Americans had earned a high school diploma or GED," U.S. News wrote.

Massachusetts is first. New Mexico is last.

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ECONOMY: Pa. is 34

Colorado is No. 1. Alaska ranks last. Pennsylvania is a solid 34th.

Here's what is considered:

"The states’ economies were ranked by an array of measures ranging from employment, business environment and growth. Job growth and the overall growth of each state’s gross domestic product were measured between 2013 and 2016. Unemployment rate and participation in the labor force for everyone 16 and older were measured. The number of people moving in and out of a state was taken into account, as was the growth of the youngest cohort of citizens," U.S. News wrote.

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Growth (50%): 26th

Washington ranks first. Alaska ranks last. Pennsylvania is a solid 26th.

Job growth is further broken down into net migration per capita, growth of the young population and GDP growth rate, which holds the most weight of the three metrics.

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Employment (30%): 43rd

Pennsylvania ranks 43rd.

This subcategory evaluates three major metrics: unemployment rate, job growth and labor force participation rate.

Hawaii is first. West Virginia comes in last.

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Business environment (20%): 26th

Pennsylvania ranks 26.

"This subcategory evaluates both the private sector business birth rate and the number of patents granted per million people in a state. Overall tax burden, venture capital investment and the number of top businesses headquartered in a state were factored in, as well."

California ranks first. Maine ranks last.

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OPPORTUNITY: Pa. is 16

New Hampshire ranks first. Louisiana is last. Pennsylvania comes in near the top, at No. 16.

Here's what is considered:

"In the land of opportunity, where upward mobility is as much a birthright as basic freedoms, economic and historic impediments sometimes stand in the way of progress. There are questions of racial disparity to be considered in a nation whose economy was founded on slavery and didn't fully recognize the voting rights of African-Americans until the 1960s. There are questions of gender disparity in a nation that didn't accord women the right to vote until 1920. These play out in educational terms, in the ability to attain the schooling that can elevate one's social standing. And they play out in economic terms, in the ability to achieve equal pay for equal work with peers, or to afford an adequate home for a growing family," U.S. News explains.

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Economic opportunity (40%): 26th

Pennsylvania is a solid 26. Mississippi is last. New Hampshire is No. 1.

"This involves the percentage of households living below the federal poverty line – with Mississippi ranking lowest in this area. The metrics include food insecurity, a count of children and adults alike who don’t get adequate nutrition –

Mississippi

ranking lowest,

North Dakota

best in this measure. It takes into account the median household income in

any state – Maryland’s ranking the highest. And

it gauges the disparity of income between the lowest-income households and the highest – with Alaska showing the smallest disparity between rich and poor. These four comprehensive metrics are indicators of more than just economic opportunity in a given state – they intersect with employment, stability and health and affect the quality of life of a state's population,"

U.S. News explains.

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Equality (40%): 26th

New Hampshire is first. Utah is last. Pennsylvania is a solid 26.

"It includes the ratio of men and women in the labor force, as well as gaps between their median incomes. The difference in unemployment between the disabled and non-disabled was counted. The ratios of whites and members of other racial groups with bachelor's degrees are counted in the examination of educational achievement. And gaps between whites and others in both income and unemployment are considered," U.S. News explained.

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Affordability (20%): 18th

Ohio is first. Pennsylvania ranks in the top half, at 18. Hawaii comes in last.

Affordability "includes the cost of living, which varies widely from one to another and also regionally. It counts the affordability of housing, with median housing prices compared against median family incomes."

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INFRASTRUCTURE: Pa. is 29

Iowa ranks first. West Virginia ranks last. Pennsylvania is a middle-of-the-road 29.

Here is what is considered:

"Use of renewable energy and the quality of roads and bridges were major considerations. While the U.S. is among the top nations for education, entrepreneurship and quality of life, it lags behind in infrastructure, earning a D+ in the American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 report card," U.S. News explained.

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Energy (33%): 25th

Oregon is No. 1. West Virginia is No. 50. Pennsylvania is a solid 25.

"This subcategory evaluates three major metrics: renewable energy usage, reliability of power grids and the average cost of electricity. Metrics were evaluated using the most recent data from the Department of Energy," U.S. News explains.

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Internet access (33%): 11th

Iowa is No. 1. Montana comes in last. Pennsylvania falls in the top third at No. 11.

"This subcategory considers both the percentage of households with access to broadband and those with access to high-speed broadband."

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Transportation (33%): 49th

Nevada is first. Rhode Island is last. Pennsylvania logs in at 49th -- second to last.

"This comprehensive subcategory is broken down into four metrics: commute time, road quality, bridge quality and public transit usage. Some metrics may be more significant in some states than in others – such as the importance of public transit in urban areas and the quality of roads in rural regions – but each of the four metrics carried an equal weight in determining the Best States for transportation," U.S. News explains.

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CRIME & CORRECTIONS: Pa. is 25

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Maine is first. Alaska comes in last. Pennsylvania is right in the middle, at 25th.

Here's what is considered:

"The crime & corrections rankings evaluated states on two general measures: their rates of both violent and property crimes, and their management of prison systems. States with higher violent crime rates – including murder – scored lower. For the public safety ranking, states with lower property crime rates – such as burglary – scored higher," U.S. News explains.

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Corrections (50%): Pa. is the worst.

New Hampshire is No. 1. Pennsylvania comes in last.

"This subcategory is further broken into five metrics: incarceration rate, juvenile incarceration, racial equality in jailing, three-year recidivism rate and sexual violence in prisons. Corrections, including prisons, parole, juvenile and other programs, cost billions of dollars a year, with state and local spending increasing at triple the rate of public elementary and secondary education funding. The efficiency of a state's corrections system shows how a state handles crime and public safety," U.S. News explains.

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Public safety (50%): 10th

Maine is No. 1. New Mexico is last. Pennsylvania is in the top 10, coming in tenth.

"This subcategory evaluates both the violent crime rate and the property crime rate in each state, as measured by the FBI in 2016. Interestingly, less crime doesn't always lead to less people in jail," U.S. News explains.

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FISCAL STABILITY: Pa. is 42

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Utah is No. 1. Illinois is last. Pennsylvania lands near the bottom of the list, at 42.

Here is what is considered:

"The fiscal stability of a state’s government is vital to ensuring the success of government-sponsored programs and projects and the quality of life of the state’s residents."

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Long-term fiscal stability (50%): 38th

Tennessee is first. Illinois is last. Pennsylvania falls in the bottom half, at 38.

"evaluates how well states are able to fund their current obligations while also securing a stable economic future. Long-term fiscal stability incorporates a state's ability to cover long-term pension obligations and issue bonds at a reasonable cost, which is largely dependent on its credit rating," U.S. News explains.

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Short-term fiscal stability (50%): 44th

North Dakota is No. 1. New Jersey is last. Pennsylvania is near the bottom, coming in at No. 44.

"In order for a state to run efficiently, it needs a balanced budget and access to enough capital to cover short-term liabilities," U.S. News explains.

Pennsylvania notably has had several budget cycles run far past their deadline for implementation.

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QUALITY OF LIFE: Pa. is 44

North Dakota is No. 1. California is 50th. Pennsylvania is near the bottom at 44th.

Here's what is considered:

"Among the measures used to evaluate states' natural environments are drinking water quality, air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square. The ranking also considers how much each state puts its citizens at risk for long-term, chronic health effects from pollution. Social environment, on the other hand, investigates how involved people are in their communities. Two of the measures, community engagement and social support, are based on surveys where people shared how often they participate in community events and how often they spend time with family members, friends and work colleagues. Political involvement was also determined by evaluating average voter turnout at the 2016 presidential and congressional elections," U.S. News explains.

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Natural environment (50%): 45th

Florida is first. Illinois is last. Pennsylvania is near the bottom at 45.

"A person's overall well-being is largely impacted by whether they live in an environment that supports their physical health. Included in national environment is drinking water quality, air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square mile. It also encompasses how at risk a state's citizens are for chronic, long-term health effects due to pollution," U.S. News wrote.

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Social environment (50%): 41st

Alaska is first. Nevada is last. Pennsylvania is in the bottom 10, at 41.

"Included in social environment are community engagement, social support and voter participation. Community engagement and social support are based on surveys of how often people participate in community events and how often they spend time with friends, family and work colleagues," U.S. News wrote.

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For more on Pennsylvania news: