The 10 states with the worst quality of life in the United States | Wilnesh News

The job market may have cooled a bit, but there are still far more job openings than there are people to fill them across the country. This means qualified workers remain a valuable commodity.

As a result, companies seeking to attract good employees like to set up shop in states with a good quality of life. While some states are more than happy to oblige, these states are not. They are the worst states in America to live and work.

Each year, CNBC’s America’s Best Business States study lists quality of life as one of ten competitiveness categories that ranks states. Under this year’s calculation, the quality of life category accounts for 13 percent of each state’s overall score.

We rated each state based on several livability factors, including crime rates, health care, air quality and child care. We also consider worker protection and legal safeguards against all forms of discrimination. And, we care about individual freedoms, including reproductive rights.

Across these ten states, there are quite a few holes in the welcome mat.

Since everyone has their own opinion about weather, we don’t factor it into our quality of life rankings. this means Arizona ranks near the bottom, not even accounting for the heat. We did take air quality into account, however, and according to the American Lung Association, rising temperatures in the state are causing some of the worst ozone pollution in the nation.

In May, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs sign In 1864, before Arizona became a state, abortion bans were almost completely repealed. But that still leaves the state with a 15-week ban. An oddity in the state constitution may allow the 1864 prohibition to be reinstated this fall, even if only briefly.

2024 Quality of Life Score: 119 points (out of 325 points) (Highest state grade: D-)

Advantage: Crime, voting rights, worker protections

weakness: air quality, reproductive rights, health care

Quality child care is scarce in the Sunflower State, with a population of 2.9 million and only 825 licensed child care centers, according to Child Care Aware of America. Kansas also has the most expensive child care in the country. Married couples with a median income are expected to spend nearly 14% of that amount on child care.

According to the United Health Foundation, Louisiana is the healthiest state in the United States, ranking fourth in premature death rates. More than 40% of Louisianans are obese. However, the state leads the way in child care, with a population of 4.5 million and more than 1,800 licensed facilities, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged, Missouri became one of the last states to cave and allow early and mail-in voting. But it remains one of the most burdensome states to vote, said Pomanter, an elections researcher at the United Democracy Center. Missouri is one of only 10 states that requires a qualifying reason to vote by mail. Missouri has the sixth-highest crime rate in the United States, with more than 30,000 reported crimes in 2022.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Report Violent crime is declining in the state, including a nearly 9% drop in the murder rate in 2022.

this human rights movement Claims Tennessee lawmakers unleashed “a tsunami of discriminatory legislation” in 2024, including law Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill in April prohibiting state social services departments from seeking to place LGBTQ+ foster children in supportive homes. other law Clearing the way for the state to abolish the independent human rights commission and fold it into the partisan attorney general’s office.

2024 Quality of Life Score: 96 points (out of 325 points) (highest state level: F)

Advantage: child care, air quality

weakness: crime, inclusion, health care

The Natural State is dangerous, with the second-highest violent crime rate in the country, behind only New Mexico. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, anti-discrimination provisions in the state’s public accommodations law are weak and provide no protections against discrimination based on age, veteran or military status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or marital status. However, the state is a leader in affordable child care. Married couples with moderate incomes can expect to spend only 9% of their income on child care. The state has a population of approximately 3 million and nearly 1,800 licensed child care facilities.

Oklahoma’s abortion banThe lawsuit stemming from the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision is among the most restrictive in the country, according to the Guttmacher Institute. It bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest or when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Oklahoma has the third-highest obesity rate in the nation and the third-highest physical activity rate in the nation. This makes the state one of the unhealthiest in the United States.

2024 Quality of Life Score: 85 points out of 325 (highest state grade: F)

strength: air quality

weakness: Reproductive rights, health, worker protections, voting rights

According to the Center for Election Innovation and Research, Alabama is one of only four states that does not allow early voting (the others are Delaware, Mississippi and New Hampshire). This year, the state passed significant new restrictions on absentee voting.

Indiana is the worst state for access to child care, with a population of nearly 7 million and only 772 licensed facilities. Low supply and demand are making child care expensive in Indiana. A married couple can expect to spend nearly 13% of their median income on child care.

Take something as basic as health care. Texas ranks near the bottom with 182 primary care providers per 100,000 residents, according to the United Health Foundation. Texas leads the nation in the number of uninsured residents by far, and 19 percent of all Texans with a credit score have medical debt that has been collected, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

Will Texas’ restrictive policies spark a backlash? There are some anecdotal reports of people leaving the state because of abortion ban and its Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws. But right now, people are pouring into states that statistically have the worst quality of life in America.

2024 Quality of Life Score: 75 points (out of 325 points) (Highest state grade: F)

strength: air quality

weakness: reproductive rights, health care, voting rights, inclusion, worker protections