that's gotta hurt
Texas slips to No. 36 in new 2024 ranking of best states to live in
Living in Texas is not all rainbows and sunshine, according to WalletHub.
Texas is being ruled out as one of the top states to live in the country, according to a new livability study by WalletHub. The Lone Star State ranked No. 36 out of all 50 states.
WalletHub ranked every state based on 51 metrics in five major categories: Affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were considered include a state's housing affordability, the share of the population living in poverty, wealth gaps, the quality of the public school system, road quality, among others.
Texas' not-so-stellar ranking has now branded the state as the 15th worst state to live in the nation. For comparison, Massachusetts ranked as the No. 1 best state to live in, followed by Florida (No. 2), New Jersey (No. 3), Utah (No. 4), and New Hampshire (No. 5).
In a confusing disparity of separate economic rankings, Texas placed No. 36, despite WalletHub's earlier 2024 report that declared Texas had the fourth best economy in the nation. The earlier report took into account a larger number of factors and seemed more focused on business and opportunity; The more recent study's focus on economics was more about wellbeing and security.
Here's how the study broke down Texas' ranking across the remaining four key dimensions:
- No. 8 – Quality of life rank
- No. 34 – Safety rank
- No. 34 – Affordability rank
- No. 38 – Education and health rank
The study's findings show that Texas has the fifth lowest rate of homeownership nationwide, ranking No. 46 out of all 50 states. In terms of education — counting the population aged 25 and older who have earned a high school diploma or more — Texas ranked No. 49.
The state similarly ranked at the bottom of the list for its proportion of the population that has insurance (No. 50). Texas workers also have the second-longest average work week, placing the state at No. 48 (tied with Wyoming) in the national comparison of average weekly work hours.
The only ranking that Texas excelled in (surprisingly) was the restaurants metric. Texas landed in a four-way tie with California, New York, and Florida for the No. 1 most restaurants per capita.
Other WalletHub studies have supported the idea that Texas may not be the best state for putting down roots. Most recently, the state landed a middling rank as the No. 29 best public school system in the U.S., and it ranked No. 28 in WalletHub's annual report of the "Best and Worst States for Military Retirees."
Moreover, Texas ranked 28th in a new report on best states for the arts by SmileHub, a nonprofit tech company founded by the same CEO as WalletHub.
"When deciding on a place to move, you should first consider financial factors like the cost of living, housing prices, and job availability," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. "Many states have strong economies, though, so you should also consider a wide variety of other factors, such as how where you live will impact your health and safety, and whether you will have adequate access to activities that you enjoy. If you have children, a robust education system is also key."
At the opposite end of the study, Louisiana landed at the bottom of the national ranking as the worst state to live in for 2024. New Mexico (No. 49), Arkansas (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Nevada (No. 46) round out the five worst states.
The full report can be found on wallethub.com.
