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 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 should 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 says 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
