PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon isn’t one of the nation’s top 10 states, or even a top-20 state, according to a new ranking from U.S. News and World Report.
The media company released its annual state rankings earlier this week. To determine which U.S. states were the best, the website looked at 71 metrics across eight categories including health care, education, infrastructure, and crime and corrections.
Between the states of Maryland and Tennessee, U.S. News and World Report ranked Oregon at No. 23 overall. In 2021, the state earned the No. 21 spot.
Here’s how the Beaver State performed in each individual category, from best ranking to worst.
- Infrastructure: No. 3
- Natural environment: No. 11
- Health care: No. 21
- Economy: No. 25
- Fiscal stability: No. 27
- Opportunity: No. 30
- Crime and corrections: No. 39
- Education: No. 39
U.S. News and World Report named some of Oregon’s highlights, such as Portland’s expanding tech industry, the Willamette Valley’s high-quality winemakers and natural areas like Crater Lake National Park and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
“Historically, the Pacific Ocean coastal state’s economy has been based on fishing, timber and inland agriculture,” the media company added. “In modern times, it has been transitioning to service industries and manufacturing.”
According to the rankings, Utah is the best state overall. Likely to the dismay of many Oregonians, neighboring states Washington and Idaho took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively.
Washington performed the best in the fiscal stability, natural environment and infrastructure categories. Idaho earned the best scores in the economy, fiscal stability and crime and corrections category.
U.S. News and World Report ranked Louisiana, Alaska and Mississippi as the worst states overall.