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With its warm beaches, natural beauty and plentiful jobs, California attracts nearly half a million people from out of state each year, but a new report may give those considering a move to the Sunshine State pause for thought.
ConsumerAffairs, a consumer news platform, ranked the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in a July 26 analysis to determine the best and worst states to move to. It combined scores from five categories – affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life and safety – to rate each state.
California came in last, coming in at 48th in the economy and 49th in education and health. “California’s poor scores in education and health, quality of life and safety make it the worst state to move to,” the report said, noting that only two western states made the top 10, although they happened to be first and third on the list.
Utah, which topped the list, had the highest affordability score due to its low property taxes, the report said. It also has a high median income — $79,449 in 2021 — and ranked third in terms of economy and quality of life.
New Hampshire ranked second with high scores in education and health, economy and quality of life. The report added that the state had the lowest percentage of people in poverty and the second-lowest rate of violent and property crimes in 2022, although it ranked only 44th in affordability.
Third place went to Idaho, which made it into the top 10 in four criteria, including fourth place in the affordability category.
And as for the worst states, New Mexico and Texas joined California at the bottom of the list. Both states scored highly in quality of life—14th and 16th, respectively—but performed poorly in other categories.
See how well your state performed with the full rankings below:
