Washington is the best state in US for second consecutive time, report says. Here’s why

Washington is the best state in the nation for the second consecutive time, according to rankings by U.S. News and World Report.

The Evergreen State ranks No. 1 because of its “access to adequate health care and quality education to economic stability and public safety,” Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a news release.

The rankings are based on metrics that “measure how well states are performing for their citizens,” according to the report.

“Washingtonians are motivated to lead and innovate in all aspects of our society, in labor, business, education, health, and so much more,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in the release. “It was that same spirit that helped us bounce back from being the first state in the nation hit by COVID-19, and we are on our way to a robust recovery because of our unique attributes.”

Among the categories analyzed are health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections and natural environment.

Washington was also No. 1 in 2019, the last time U.S. News did its Best States Rankings.

Washington’s rankings

2 Infrastructure - The report gives the state high marks for infrastructure, which includes its energy, internet access and roads and bridges. Forty-five percent of Washington’s energy consumption is from renewable sources, compared to the national average of 10%. The average commute is 27.9 minutes, which is a minute higher than the national average of 26.9, and 17.6% of its roads are in poor condition, compared to the national average of 23.5%.

3 Economy - Washington’s economy is robust, thanks to growth, a healthy business environment and low unemployment rate. The state’s gross domestic product is more than $524 billion.

“Washington is known as the birthplace of Starbucks coffee, The Boeing Co. and Microsoft Corp.,” the report says. “Additionally, Washington is crucial to the nation’s food and agriculture industry, generating 70% of the country’s apples, and also leading in milk, potato and cattle production.”

4 Health care - Washington was ranked among the top five states for accessible and quality health care, including public health (the state passed a law creating a public healthcare option for residents in May 2019.) While the national average for the percentage of adults who don’t have health insurance is 13.8%, it is 8.8% in Washington. The obesity rate is 27.7% while the national average is 31.3%.

4 Education - Washington fared well in this category primarily because of higher education, which was based on such data as how many residents are college educated (46%) and debt at graduation. The average student has $23,936 of debt at graduation, compared to the national average of $28,650.

The University of Washington, Gonzaga University and Seattle University ranked as the state’s top three colleges, the report says.

This category also evaluated Washington’s pre-K through 12 education system, which is ranked 19th nationally. The high school graduation rate of 79.7% is lower than the national average of 84.1%.

14 Natural environment - This measures the quality of Washington’s air and water. It has 208 days with unhealthy air quality, while the national average is 227. And for every 100,000 residents, there are 2.05 drinking water violation points, compared to the national average (2.4). It had substantially less industrial toxins (475 pounds per square mile) than the national average of 1,015.

15 Crime and corrections - Two-hundred-fifty-nine out of every 100,000 Washington residents are incarcerated, while the national average is 450 per 100,000. And only 86 juveniles are incarcerated per 100,000, compared to the national average of 100. The violent crime rate (304 per 100,000) was also lower than the national average (394 per 100,000.)

19 Opportunity - This metric is based on affordability, economic opportunity and equality. Washington’s cost of living index is 9.3 points above the national average of 100, but its poverty rate is 11%, below the national average of 13.4%. The average household income is $70,979, which is above the national average of $60,336.

22 Fiscal stability - Washington ranks near the middle on both short- and long-term fiscal stability. Washington’s credit rating score is “AA1-STABLE” but U.S. News did not include a national average for comparison. Budget balancing is above average and Washington’s liquidity matches the national average of 2.5.

Other top-ranked states

Here’s how the rest of the top 10 states look in the U.S. News report. Check here for a complete list of the 2021 rankings.

2 New Hampshire - high marks in education, opportunity, crime and correction and natural environment.

3 Minnesota - ranked in the top 10 for health care, infrastructure, opportunity and natural environment.

4 Utah - did well in health care, education, economy, infrastructure and crime and corrections.

5 Vermont - ranked high for education, opportunity, crime and corrections and natural environment.

6 Maryland - high marks in health care and opportunity.

7 Virginia - this state did well in the education, opportunity, fiscal stability and crime and corrections categories.

8 Massachusetts - ranked high in health care, education, economy and crime and corrections.

9 Nebraska - in the top 10 for education, infrastructure and fiscal stability.

10 Colorado - had the best economy.

Other reports, rankings for Washington

Washington’s housing market is among the hottest in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One Washington city has restaurants that rank among the best in the country, Yelp users say.

Washington is also home to one of the country’s healthiest cities — find out why.

Not all reports rank Washington favorably. While the U.S. News and World Report rankings give Washington high marks for infrastructure, including roads, this study says Washington has the nation’s eighth worst roads.

This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Washington is the best state in US for second consecutive time, report says. Here’s why."