Iowa Made the 2022 List of the Best States to Live In

We may not be the best state to live in, but we still did pretty well!

The website WalletHub recently released their annual list of the best states to live in, which ranks all 50 states on "52 key indicators of livability." Some of the factors that WalletHub looked at include housing affordability, cost of living, unemployment rates, high school graduation rates, life expectancy, violent crime rates, traffic congestion, and weather patterns. Based on the 52 different indicators, Iowa ranked 16th on the list! Here is Iowa's breakdown in all five main categories:

• Quality of Life - 17th place
• Education & Health - 18th place
• Affordability - 20th place
• Safety - 21st place
• Economy - 28th place

It's also worth noting that Iowa came in first place for the lowest housing costs in the country! Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Ohio finished out the top five. We're killing it over here in the Midwest!

According to WalletHub's rankings, here are 2022's top ten states to live in:

1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. Idaho
5. Virginia
6. New Hampshire
7. Florida
8. Wyoming
9. Minnesota
10. Wisconsin

On the other hand, here are the ten WORST states to live in:

1. Mississippi
2. Alaska
3. Louisiana
4. Arkansas
5. New Mexico
6. South Carolina
7. Oklahoma
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. West Virginia

In 2021, Iowa was number nine on WalletHub's list of best states to live in, so we did move down a bit in 2022. But hey, there's always next year!

You can check out WalletHub's full list of all 50 states and get more information on their methodology HERE.