The best and worst US states to live in

Ogden, Utah. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images US News & World Report ranked all 50 states in the US on livability. States were ranked across eight categories, including education, healthcare, and the economy. More well-rounded states fared better than those that ranked high in just one or two categories. Every state has its pros and cons — but which one came out on top? US News & World Report released its annual list of the best states to live in, evaluating each in eight categories: education, healthcare, the economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, the natural environment, and crime and corrections. The categories are weighted differently based on a survey of 25,000 Americans that asked what they care most about. US News & World Report senior data editor Evan Comen told Business Insider that since the categories aren't evenly weighted, a state excelling in one category doesn't guarantee a high overall ranking — and in some instances, success in one category could lead to the collapse of another. Texas, for example, finished outside the top 25 despite ranking first in economy. "The way we've structured our index, it does reflect some of these trade-offs among categories," Comen said. "Texas is No. 1 in the economy — a lot of that economy is tied to oil and gas manufacturing. But then, Texas is No. 46 in natural environment. And our natural environment category is composed of metrics related to air and water quality and pollution." Though Southern states have typically performed well on lists that rank the best places to live , Florida and North Carolina were the only Sun Belt states to finish in the top 25. According to Comen, it's not that Southern states are getting worse; rather, other states are improving. "A decline in rankings doesn't necessarily mean a state is performing poorly in any metric, but rather that they are being outpaced by other states," he said. "Some states in the South might have experienced ranking decline, but it's more because they're being outperformed by other states, particularly the Midwest ." One state that kept its ranking from the previous year was Utah , which finished first for the fourth consecutive year. While Utah finished 48th in the natural environment category, it had one of the most balanced rankings across categories, including the second-best economy. Keep reading to see what each state is best at and what it needs to improve on, according to US News & World Report. The population data comes from the US census. 50. Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 4,618,189 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (43) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (50) 49. Alaska Homer, Alaska. Jay Berkow Photography/Getty Images Population: 737,270 Best ranking : Opportunity (30) Worst ranking: Economy (49) 48. Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi. SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 2,954,160 Best ranking: Crime and corrections (23) Worst ranking: Healthcare (50) 47. New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 2,125,498 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (12) Worst ranking: Education (50) 46. Michigan Sean Pavone/Getty Images Population: 10,127,884 Best ranking: Healthcare (24) Worst ranking: Education (45) 45. Arkansas Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 3,114,791 Best ranking: Economy (23) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (49) 44. West Virginia Wheeling, West Virginia. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 1,766,147 Best ranking: Opportunity (4) Worst ranking: Healthcare and economy (50 in both categories) 43. Alabama Birmingham, Alabama. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 5,193,088 Best ranking: Opportunity (19) Worst ranking: Education and healthcare (44 in both categories) 42. Ohio Columbus, Ohio. Sean Reid/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 11,900,510 Best ranking: Opportunity (18) Worst ranking: Natural environment (43) 41. Kentucky Bardstown, Kentucky. Brian Koellish/Getty Images Population: 4,606,864 Best ranking: Crime and corrections (10) Worst ranking: Healthcare (46) 40. Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. f11photo/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 13,059,432 Best ranking: Healthcare (11 ) Worst ranking: Economy (47) 39. Oregon Portland, Oregon. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 4,273,586 Best ranking: Infrastructure (2) Worst ranking: Economy (48) 38. Nevada Reno, Nevada. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Population: 3,282,188 Best ranking: Infrastructure (1) Worst ranking: Natural environment (47) 37. Illinois Chicago, Illinois. marchello74/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 12,719,141 Best ranking: Education (13) Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (50) 36. Oklahoma Oklahoma City. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 4,123,288 Best ranking Economy (11) Worst ranking: Education (47) 35. California Los Angeles, California. choness/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 39,355,309 Best ranking: Healthcare (7) Worst ranking: Opportunity (50) 34. Arizona Kruck20/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 7,623,818 Best ranking: Economy (4) Worst ranking: Education (43) 33. Rhode Island Newport, Rhode Island. Beth Fitzpatrick/Getty Images Population: 1,114,521 Best ranking Healthcare (4) Worst ranking: Infrastructure (47) 32. South Carolina Charleston, South Carolina. Kruck20/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 5,570,274 Best ranking: Economy (6) Worst ranking : Education and crime and corrections(42 in both categories) 31. Missouri Branson, Missouri. JeremyMasonMcGraw.com/Getty Images Population: 6,270,541 Best ranking: Opportunity (8) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (44) 30. Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana. Nicholas Klein/Getty Images Population: 6,973,333 Best ranking: Opportunity (17) Worst ranking: Natural environment (50) 29. Montana Missoula, Montana. Jon Bilous/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 1,144,694 Best ranking: Opportunity (15) Worst ranking: Healthcare (41) 28. Hawaii Honolulu. ehabaref/Getty Images Population: 1,432,820 Best ranking: Healthcare (1) Worst ranking: Economy (46) 27. Maine Portland, Maine. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Population: 1,414, 874 Best ranking: Crime and corrections (2) Worst ranking: Infrastructure (41) 26. Texas Dallas, Texas. travelview/Getty Images Population: 31,709,821 Best ranking: Economy (1) Worst ranking: Opportunity (48) 25. Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee. Jeremy Poland/Getty Images Population: 7,315,076 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (5) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (40) 24. Kansas Topeka, Kansas. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Population: 2,977,220 Best ranking: Infrastructure (5) Worst ranking: Natural environment (39) 23. New York Albany, New York. Wirestock/Getty Images Population: 20,002,427 Best ranking: Natural environment (6) Worst ranking: Opportunity (49) 22. Georgia Atlanta. adamkaz/Getty Images Population: 11,302,748 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (10) Worst ranking: Healthcare (35) 21. Maryland Maryland. Kruck20/Getty Images Population: 6,265,347 Best ranking: Healthcare, natural environment (5) Worst ranking: Economy (37) 20. New Jersey New Jersey. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images Population: 9,548,215 Best ranking: Education (2) Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (49) 19. Virginia Richmond, Virginia. Sky Noir Photography by Bill Dickinson/Getty Images Population: 8,880,107 Best ranking: Crime and corrections (13) Worst ranking: Infrastructure (39) 18. Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Population: 3,688,496 Best ranking: Healthcare (3) Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (47) 17. Colorado Denver, Colorado. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Population: 6,012,561 Best ranking: Education (1) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (47) 16. Wyoming Casper, Wyoming. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images Population: 588,753 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (1) Worst ranking: Healthcare (38) 15. Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin. benedek/Getty Images Population: 5,972,787 Best ranking: Education (5) Worst ranking: Infrastructure (37) 14. Delaware Wilmington, Delaware. halbergman/Getty Images Population: 1,059,952 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (4) Worst ranking: Education (37) 13. North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina. Kruck20/Getty Images Population: 11,197,968 Best ranking: Education (10) Worst ranking: Infrastructure, natural environment (26) 12. Iowa Des Moines, Iowa. Dee Liu/Getty Images Population: 3,238,387 Best ranking: Opportunity (2) Worst ranking: Economy (39) 11. Massachusetts Springfield, Massachusetts. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Population: 7,154,084 Best ranking: Healthcare (2) Worst ranking: Opportunity (41) 10. Vermont Montpelier, Vermont. jenifoto/Getty Images Population: 644,663 Best ranking: Opportunity (1) Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (41) 9. Washington Tacoma, Washington. gmc3101/Getty Images Population: 8,001,020 Best ranking: Natural environment (7) Worst ranking: Opportunity (34) 8. Florida St. Petersburg, Florida. RudyBalasko/Getty Images Population: 23,462,518 Best ranking: Education (3) Worst ranking: Opportunity (47) 7. Idaho Boise, Idaho. Darwin Fan/Getty Images Population: 2,029,733 Best ranking: Economy (3) Worst ranking: Education (30) 6. New Hampshire Peterborough, New Hampshire. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images Population: 1,415,342 Best ranking: Crime and corrections (1) Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (36) 5. Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska. Alex Potemkin/Getty Images Population: 2,018,006 Best ranking: Infrastructure (3) Worst ranking: Healthcare (34) 4. North Dakota Fargo, North Dakota. halbergman/Getty Images Population: 799,358 Best ranking: Fiscal stability (3) Worst ranking: Healthcare (29) 3. Minnesota Minneapolis. Claire Gentile/Getty Images Population: 5,830,405 Best ranking: Infrastructure (9) Worst ranking: Economy (24) 2. South Dakota Rapid City, South Dakota. Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Population: 935,094 Best ranking: Natural environment (2) Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (41) 1. Utah Salt Lake City, Utah. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Population: 3,538,904 Best ranking: Economy, fiscal stability (2 in both categories) Worst ranking: Natural environment (48) Read the original article on Business Insider