South Orange County communities near Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Posted on 08/01/2026 9:12:36 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
California, the most populous U.S. state and the one with the largest economy, ranked as the 35th best state in a new ranking published by U.S. News on July 28.
South Orange County communities near Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Utah ranked as the best state, followed by South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.
The ranking was based on scores in eight categories such as education, healthcare, economy, and fiscal stability, and it was weighted by survey opinions.
Despite a median income of more than $100,000 compared to the national average of $81,600, California ranked last in the category of opportunity. This was partially because it ranked last in affordability, which was based on a cost-of-living index score and housing affordability index score.
The state's Department of Housing & Community Development considers a six-figure salary as low-income in many of its coastal hubs.
According to the income limits it set on June 23, $100,000 is classified as low in seven counties - San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Orange.
Santa Cruz County has the highest cutoff for what's considered low-income at $122,200 for a single-person household.
California's Legislative Analyst's Office said a mid-tier house costs about $775,000 in the state, nearly double the national average of $398,771.
"California home prices continue to be much more expensive than the rest of the US," it said in its 2026 Housing Affordability Tracker.
Among all categories in U.S. News's ranking, the state's highest score was in healthcare at 7th place, including 6th in healthcare quality and 5th in public health.
Public health looked at infant mortality rate, mortality rate, obesity rate, smoking rate, suicide rate, and mental health.
The report states that 8.4 percent of California's population is without health insurance, compared to the national average of 11.3 percent. It added that its obesity rate is 29.1 percent compared to 34.2 percent nationally.
The state also ranked 25th in education but 6th in higher education, which assessed graduation rates as well as low debt at graduation and low tuition fees.
However, California's K-12 education ranked 41st, which was based on high school graduation rates, preschool enrollment, and test scores.
A separate report last month listed six California cities - Visalia, Bakersfield, Modesto, Fresno, Stockton, and Salinas - among the 10 least educated metropolitan areas in the United States.
The list looked at the share of adults at least 25 years old who have a high school diploma or higher, who have at least some college experience, who have a bachelor's degree or higher, and who have a graduate or professional degree.
While many Central Valley areas scored low, Silicon Valley's San Jose metro ranked as the fourth most educated, while the San Francisco metro ranked eighth.
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But, but, everyone wants to know which of the 57 States is ranked number 57?
Yay. In the top 40.
Who the heck are in the bottom 15? If they’re #35 of fifty, who are the others? Is there an atoll off Guam with one resident? One summer island off Puerto Rico? An irradiated sandbar in the Marshall Islands.
Maybe I should click the link.
Whoopsie. Can’t read anything behind the paywall.
Thanks for playing.
[don’t forget to send a little money to Free Republic when you’re done sending money to Epoch Times]
I'm feeling a bit peckish and have pointed out that we may never know.
FReepers that post paywall articles bore me. Along with websites that require me to register or otherwise log in with personal information.
Maybe seekandfind doesn't realize this?
[please everyone, don't forget to send fifteen or twenty bucks, or more, a month to Free Republic. It really doesn't take much to do a dollar a day for all this fellowship.]
U.S News State Rankings
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings
Movie, you nailed it with the link to the article.
Thank you.
Those numbers are disturbing. Can a State brag when they’re in the bottom 10 or 5th percentile of academics?
Your welcome.
Since I am typing on a phone I cannot type the list. Easier with a link.
After taking a brief look at the rankings I am not use many states can brag. Maybe high ranking overall, but low in some. And vice versa.
Not sure if overall rankings should be used or bragged. Two examples. Arkansas overall ranking is 45, but 23th in economy. Florida’s overall ranking is 8, yet 47th in opportunity.
I would use the numbers to see what the state needs to improve on if I were the state or live in it.
If I were looking to move out of the state I reside in, I would look at the numbers to help narrow down the list. The final decision would be going to the state to see for myself and follow the news of what is going on there. Spend some time there to get a feel of what is it like and investigate. A state high overall on the list may not be a fit for me for some reason.
It may be low in academics, but academics may not be an important factor for the individual. The state may be higher in other catagories and can say we will work on academics. They will brag about the higher numbers in the other catagories
This is so true. My kids are done with high school and even college. No school debt. We lived frugal to get them through college without debt.
We now mentor and will sponsor some young people for the trades. College is stupid expensive. We now support some young people for Electrician, Plumbing, Cabinetry, Home wiring (that's new), and landscaping.
God bless these hardworking youngsters.
“Visalia, Bakersfield, Modesto, Fresno, Stockton, and Salinas “
The whole valley is a Mexican colony
California’s ranking is propped up the great weather year round. It should be top 10 just for that, but corruption ruins it.
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