Where you live doesn't just affect what sports team you root for or whether you say "soda" vs. "pop." Geography can have a major impact on your career, earnings and quality of life.

Each year, U.S. News & World Report surveys over 50,000 Americans in order to rank all U.S. states across 71 metrics in eight categories: crime and corrections, economy, education, environment, fiscal stability, healthcare, infrastructure and opportunity.

U.S. News ranks each state from one to 50 — with one being the best and 50 being the worst — across each of these eight categories and then uses a weighed average to create a final ranking of the best places to live in the country.

The resulting Best States of 2019 list reflects the states that offer residents public safety and just corrections programs, strong employment and growth, high-quality public education, clean air and water, long and short-term financial stability, access to high-quality healthcare as well as robust energy, internet and transportation infrastructure. U.S. News also calculated opportunity based on variables like cost of living and economic equality.

Here is are the top five states on U.S. News' Best States of 2019 ranking: