Best and worst places to live in the U.S. per WalletHub: Massachusetts, New Jersey

Is your state among the best to live in this year? WalletHub has an answer.

Researchers at the personal finance publication ranked the 50 states based on scores in five categories: affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety.

Massachusetts topped 2022’s list, scoring 62.65 out of 100. New Jersey came in second, dropping from the top spot last year. New York, Idaho and Virginia fill out the rest of the top five states to live in, in that order. Virginia is the only new addition to the top five, bumping Minnesota off the list.

Several Southern states – Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, among others – rounded out the bottom of WalletHub's rankings.

What went into WalletHub's state scores?

WalletHub says its rankings reflect the states' scores on 52 “livability” indicators, each weighted differently. Here's a breakdown of the five categories:

Affordability: Takes into account the cost of living, housing price including, median household income, home ownership and median annual property taxes.

Economy: Indicators include the state unemployment rate, poverty rate, and wealth gap among others.

Quality of life: Measured by commute times, infrastructure quality, access to walking and bike trails, air quality and weather among several other indicators.

Education and health: Indicators including the quality of the public school and hospital systems, life expectancy and the premature death rate.

Safety: WalletHub looks at violent and property crime rates, traffic deaths and the number of law enforcement employees.

Each category is worth 20 points, with a total maximum score of 100.

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Top 10 best states to live in

  • 1. Massachusetts; Score: 62.65

  • 2. New Jersey; Score: 62.01

  • 3. New York; Score: 60.64

  • 4. Idaho; Score: 58.73

  • 5. Virginia; Score: 58.73

  • 6. New Hampshire; Score: 58.25

  • 7. Florida; Score: 58.07

  • 8. Wyoming; Score: 58

  • 9. Minnesota; Score: 57.99

  • 10. Wisconsin; Score: 57.92

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Worst 10 states to live in

Is your state in the middle of the pack? See WalletHub's full rankings.

  • 41. West Virginia; Score: 46.84

  • 42. Kentucky; Score: 46.39

  • 43. Alabama; Score: 45.61

  • 44. Oklahoma; Score: 43.82

  • 45. South Carolina; Score: 43.80

  • 46. New Mexico; Score: 42.51

  • 47. Arkansas; Score: 42.42

  • 48. Louisiana; Score: 41.74

  • 49. Alaska; Score: 40.93

  • 50. Mississippi; Score: 39.77

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best states to live in, per WalletHub: Massachusetts, New Jersey