Illinois Among Top States For Education, Crime, Corrections: U.S. News

ILLINOIS — Good schools, health care access, and job opportunities are just a few factors Americans take into account when deciding which state to call home. Some states, however, do a better job than others when it comes to serving residents and providing for communities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual best states ranking released Tuesday.

Illinois ranked 36th out of all 50 states, and only ranked in the top 20 among states in three of eight categories that factored into where states ranked overall.

The 2023 rankings show that Utah is the No. 1 state in the country. The state earned the spot because it ranked among the top 20 states in seven of the eight categories. The highest Illinois ranked in any category was 12th, reaching that spot in both education and crime and corrections. Illinois ranked 50th in fiscal stability.

Following Utah in the overall rankings are Washington at No. 2 and Idaho at No. 3.

U.S. News ranks each state using more than 70 metrics across eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment. The state’s overall ranking is based on the weighted average of the state’s individual rankings in the eight categories.

According to researchers, some categories, like education and health care, are given more weight in the rankings because they matter more to residents.

Here’s how Illinois ranked in the eight categories:

• Health care: 28th
• Education: 12th
• Economy: 39th
• Infrastructure: 19th
• Opportunity: 35th
• Fiscal stability: 50th
• Crime and corrections: 12th
• Natural environment: 38th

Top-performing states in each category include:

• Health care: Hawaii
• Education: Florida
• Economy: Utah
• Infrastructure: Minnesota
• Opportunity: New Hampshire
• Fiscal stability: Utah
• Crime and corrections: New Hampshire
• Natural environment: Hawaii

This year’s report noted the national mortality rate increased by 23 percent, rising from 715.2 per 100,000 in 2019 to 879.7 per 100,000 two years later. The leading cause of death in states was heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19, researchers said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hawaii had the lowest mortality rate in 2021, while West Virginia had the highest.

This year’s report also revealed systemic flaws in inequality by state. In all states, women are 90 percent as likely than men to work. For every $1 earned by white workers, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and other people of color only make 63.9 cents.