PHOENIX - A annual study by U.S. News and World Report ranks Arizona the 12th-worst state to live in.
The rankings were made based on eight categories: health care, education, economy, opportunity, infrastructure, crime and corrections, fiscal stability and quality of life.
The communications manager for U.S. News and World Report gave the following information on Arizona:
Arizona, ranked 39th overall, performs best in the infrastructure category at No. 12. It is among the top 5 states for power grid reliability and bridge quality. Arizona is also the third best state for job growth and 6th best state for entrepreneurship (new business births).
The state did move down five spots from the 2017 inaugural rankings. In particular, it fell 12 spots in the opportunity category, which takes into account metrics such as education and income inequality to evaluate whether a state is granting its residents the tools to succeed economically. It placed No. 45 in opportunity. Arizona moved up in health care (now No. 24), stayed the same in education at No. 43 and moved up in the economy at No. 16.
Arizona also moved up 8 spots in the Fiscal Stability bucket which used to be a broader assessment of state government. It is worth noting that part of the metrics have been updated for the 2018 Best States methodology in effort to improve the ranking and reflect the most recently available data across the 50 states.
The state at the top of the list is Iowa, and the lowest-ranked state is Louisiana.