Home, sweet, home–actually, it’s more than sweet. On Tuesday, a new report by WalletHub, a financial website, named New Jersey the best state to live in for 2021.
The site based these rankings on 52 indicators of livability, such as education rate to hospitality qualities, housing costs, and more. It was also rated across five main factors, being affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety.
New Jersey secured multiple high accolades. It was rated number one in safety, five in education and health, and number seven in quality of life. It was also ranked four in lowest crime rate.
However, the state also lacked in some areas. It came in at a 49 in affordability and 32 in economy.
The state earned a total score of 63.01 out of 100. Compared to the second-place state, Massachusetts, which earned a 62.60 total score, New Jersey scored 0.41 more of a point.
The top ten states, in order, were New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted about the rankings: “You know it. I know it. All nine million of us who call this state home know it,” he said. “New Jersey is #1. And with our historic investments in education, health care, and our communities, we’re going to keep building a stronger and fairer state–together.”
Is New Jersey really the best state to live in? Tell us why you love it in the comments.
Main photo by Matt Donders
