Indiana in lower half of ‘Best States’ ranking
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2023 Best States rankings, and Indiana is near the middle of the pack at No. 29. The publication evaluated 70 metrics across eight categories, including health care, education, and economy.
Some categories, such as health care and education, were heavily weighted, based on surveys of what mattered most to residents. Health care played a big role in bringing down Indiana’s ranking.
Other categories included infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, and crime & corrections.
The publication noted business creation has increased since before the pandemic. The average quarterly creation rate of new private sector establishments increased 23% from before the COVID-19 pandemic to after its onset.
Business creation was a metric within the economy category in which Indiana was ranked No. 26.
“With the economic and social devastation caused by COVID-19 pandemic finally slowing down, U.S. News’ analysis of state data during that time reveals some bright spots – including a rise in the business creation rate,” said Morgan Felchner, executive editor, U.S. News & World Report. “Unsurprisingly, the hardships Americans faced were also apparent – from soaring retail electricity costs to a significant rise in the mortality rate.”
Indiana’s rankings among the eight categories include:
- No. 22 – Crime & Corrections
- No. 26 – Economy
- No. 17 – Education
- No. 25 – Fiscal Stability
- No. 43 – Health Care
- No. 26 – Infrastructure
- No. 50 – Natural Environment
- No. 7 – Opportunity
The publication says southern states make up eight of the bottom 10 states in the health care category. Wyoming (No. 42) and Indiana (No. 43) are the only states ranked in the bottom 10 for health care that are not in the south.
Utah (No. 1) and Washington (No. 2) topped the Best States overall rankings. They achieved top 20 results across seven of eight categories.
Click here to examine the list.