Where MD Ranks On Best States List: U.S. News

MARYLAND — A new ranking from U.S. News & World Report ranks Maryland as the 22nd best overall in terms of meeting the needs of its citizens.

The rankings, released Tuesday, measure how well states serve residents across 70 metrics in eight categories: the economy, fiscal stability, education, health care, infrastructure, natural environment, opportunity, and crime and corrections.

Weighting of the categories was based on a survey of what matters most to people, with health care and education weighted the most heavily.

Here’s where Maryland ranked in the categories:

Health care, No. 7
Education, No. 20
Economy, No. 31
Fiscal stability, No. 29
Infrastructure, No. 33
Natural environment, No. 6
Crime and corrections, No. 18
Opportunity, No. 30

Here's some of what U.S. News says about Maryland:

"Home to the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland is known for its blue crabs and the city of Baltimore, a major historic trading port, baseball destination and birthplace of the national anthem. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he watched the American flag wave above Fort McHenry on the harbor during the War of 1812, signaling Britain's defeat.

As one of the original 13 colonies, Maryland has always played a pivotal role in American history. As a border state during the Civil War, it ultimately joined the Union, though it was divided in its support. Maryland remained a slave state for most of the war, forcing enslaved people, including abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, to flee. In 1862, the Old Line State held the bloodiest one-day battle in the nation’s history: the Battle of Antietam.

Adjacent to the nation’s capital, Maryland employs many federal workers and has more than 60 federal facilities. It houses the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin. Maryland also is home to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, one of the largest military medical centers in the nation."

The 10 best states, according to the sixth annual edition of the ranking, are:

1. Utah
2. New Hampshire
3. Nebraska
4. Minnesota
5. Idaho
6. Iowa
7. Vermont
8. Washington
9. Florida
10. Massachusetts

The lowest-ranked state is Louisiana. Other states that are ranked among the bottom include New Mexico, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, Alaska, Alabama and Oklahoma.

Read more about the Best States methodology.