SALT LAKE CITY — It might be about time for Utah to retire the trophy awarded for the best state in the U.S.
For the third straight year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Utah tops in the country when compared to the other states that make up the union.
"The best state in America is home to a diverse and resilient economy, smart students, low crime and a fairly healthy population," the outlet said Tuesday.
U.S. News touted Utah's recent reputational renaissance to become a tech hub and a state where business startups flourish.
In its ninth year, the Best State rankings are measured across eight categories and 71 metrics, including health care, education, economy crime and infrastructure. Utah ranked in the top 10 in five of the categories:
- Fiscal - 1st
- Economy - 3rd
- Infrastructure - 3rd
- Education - 4th
- Crime - 7th
- Health - 14th
- Opportunity - 19th
- Environment - 48th
According to the study, Utah's economy is in a good spot if concerns about a potential recession become reality.
“Our economic structure is similar to the U.S., so when the U.S. suffers so do we,” said Natalie Gochnour with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “But I will say that as a general rule, our lows are higher and our highs are higher – in the last two and a half decades, Utah’s economy has outperformed the nation, had greater strength, and when we’ve had downturns, we have been able to rebound much more quickly in our state.”
One area that Utah can improve, according to the rankings, is in the environment, where the state suffered from poor scores with industrial toxins and pollution health risk.
2025 Top 10 States in the U.S.:
- UTAH
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Vermont
- South Dakota
- Massachusetts
- Washington
There are many different factors that go toward this recognition, and while some Utahns say this is well deserved, they also say there is room for improvement.
FOX 13 News spoke with some locals, many of whom said the natural beauty is among Utah's best traits.
Lily Nilsen was one of those.
“The mountains, the paddleboarding, the beautiful reservoirs, the outdoor spaces," said Nilsen, who has lived in the Beehive State for 26 years.
“I love the mountains; I’ve been able to go on so many walks and hikes," added University of Utah student Jessica Evans.
“All the nature — it’s very beautiful, in all the seasons," 23-year Utahn Gabrielle Molosz chimed in.
“The natural splendor, the beauty is hard to beat," added John Dowding, a Utahn of 33 years.
While it seems hard to beat, Utah’s natural environment actually ranked 48th among other states, with the U.S. News citing pollution and poor air quality.
“We have a beautiful Salt Lake Valley that gets difficult episodes of high pollution, so I think it’s incumbent upon us to be great stewards of the natural environment here. That’s a place we can do better," Gochnour said. “If we don’t protect it, we lose it.”
On the other hand, Gochnour pointed out how Utah finished 2024 with the strongest economy in the nation.
“We have the lowest poverty rate in the country, we have some of the highest upward mobility of the country, we have a large middle class, so we have a lot of these accolades. I think the question is: This isn’t new for us, but how do we sustain it?” she said.
Some of the residents we spoke with shared concerns about Utah's infrastructure keeping up with the population growth — especially public transit.
“Although the planning is really good for real estate, transportation just hasn’t kept up with how robust the economic opportunities are," Dowding said.
“I know they’re increasing the TRAX system, so I’d like to see that a little more. I wish it went more down south rather than just the FrontRunner," Evans added.
“I love it, as far as everything I’ve gotten to see. Overall, yeah, I would give it best state," Molosz concluded.
