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US News rankings say Michigan is in the pits
The Detroit News • • nation
Key Points:
- US News released its 2026 Overall Best State Rankings, evaluating all 50 states across eight categories including education, health care, economy, and infrastructure.
- Michigan ranked poorly overall, placing in the bottom five states, with strong healthcare ranking (24th) but low marks in education (45th), economy (43rd), and infrastructure (42nd).
- Utah was named the best state overall, ranking highly in economy, fiscal stability, and infrastructure, while Louisiana ranked last, scoring lowest in crime and corrections and near the bottom in most other categories.
- Rankings were based on 71 metrics weighted by category importance, supplemented by surveys of over 56,000 Americans on state satisfaction from 2018 to 2025.
- The study highlights significant disparities among states in areas such as education quality, economic growth, and public safety, providing a comprehensive overview of state performance and resident satisfaction.
