Minnesota 3rd Best Place To Live

Now I am a little biased on this, as since I was born and raised in Minnesota and have never lived anywhere else to compare it to, I have always thought that Minnesota was a pretty great place to live.

Then U.S. News ranks the state No. 3 as the best place to live, behind only New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The states were ranked according to seven categories: health care, education, crime and corrections, infrastructure, opportunity, economy and government.

For health care, we scored third. With the Mayo Clinic being here I am sure that helps. Massachusetts and Hawaii came in at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively in health care.

For education we landed at No. 11. Not terrible, but we know we need some improvement. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maryland were the top five.

Crime and corrections we came in at 17. There are 33 states worse than us is one way to look at it. The top five are Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York.

Infrastructure was No. 5. Although given some of our roads and bridges you would have to wonder. The top four above us: Oregon, Washington, Utah and Nevada, all states with not much snow or salt usage.

Opportunity was No. 2. This ranking measures poverty, housing affordability and equality for women, minorities and people with disabilities. The only state better than us was New Hampshire.

Economy came in at No. 12. The economy ranking tracks unemployment rates, GDP growth, migration into the state, patents, new businesses and more. Typically our unemployment rates are low and, with the many companies here that get patents, this helps.

Government was 24. So we are about dead in the middle. Government ranks states on transparency, integrity, fiscal stability and their use of digital technology in serving residents. Indiana, Virginia, Utah, North Carolina and Wisconsin were the top five here.

Based upon people I know that have moved to these top five states in government, this one does not surprise me. Based on what I have heard, other than our fiscal stability, we are behind a bit with the times. When state government changes in a couple of years, it will be interesting.

I am still very proud to be from Minnesota. Skol! Ya sure you betcha.