NH Beats Out Massachusetts In 'Best State' Rankings

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire leapfrogged Massachusetts in the latest U.S. News & World Report "Best State" rankings for 2018. The Granite State was ranked No. 5 while Massachusetts was ranked No. 8. The best state? Iowa.

The rankings were based on eight metrics, ranging from health care to infrastructure to crime. New Hampshire was ranked No. 1 in the opportunity category based on "poverty, housing affordability and equality for women, minorities and people with disabilities," U.S. News wrote.

This is how New Hampshire was ranked in all categories:

• Health care: 13
• Education: 4
• Economy: 11
• Opportunity: 1
• Infrastructure: 37
• Crime: 2
• Fiscal stability: 26
• Quality of life: 4

U.S. News & World Report Best State Rankings 2018: Full List

Of the other New England states, Vermont was ranked No. 9, Maine was ranked No. 22 and Connecticut was ranked No. 24.

"Health care and education were weighted most heavily," U.S. news wrote. "Then came state economies, the opportunity states offer their citizens and infrastructure. Crime & corrections followed closely in weighting, followed by measures of government fiscal stability and people's quality of life. This explains why Iowa, ranking No. 1 in infrastructure and No. 3 in health care, occupies the overall No. 1 spot in the Best States rankings. And it explains why Minnesota, ranking No. 2 in quality of life and No. 3 in opportunity for its citizens, ranks No. 2 overall in the Best States rankings."

Photo: A cabin in Weare, New Hampshire. (Credit: Olivia Booth)