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- Mississippi ranked 48th overall in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best States ranking.
- Mississippi’s health care ranked last, while affordability ranked second in the nation.
- The state’s economy and infrastructure also received low rankings.
- Education ranked 34th, and the crime ranking was 20th.
U.S. News & World Report recently released it annual rank of the best states in the country. How did Mississippi score?
Overall, the study used data to rank states based on eight important areas of quality of life. Education and health care got the most weight in the scoring process, followed by state economy, infrastructure — like roads and internet — and the opportunities citizens have. Fiscal stability, crime and corrections systems and the environment rounded out the list.
Utah was ranked the best state in the nation overall, and Louisiana ranked 50th.
The Magnolia State ranks No. 2 in the nation on affordability, which is one of the indicators used to see how residents gets chances to grow. However, health care access and quality were the worst in the nation.
Every state has highs and lows, but how does it average out to the whole picture?
Here’s what we know about how Mississippi ranked and why, which states topped the national list and which ones are ranked the worst in the country.
How did Mississippi rank among the best states?
U.S. News & World Report ranked Mississippi 48th overall. It’s the second year at the same rank.
The state scored in the bottom 10 states on three criteria. The best rank was 20th for crime, with other placements falling in the 30s.
We ranked last in health care and 49th in economy. It took 47th for fiscal stability and infrastructure.
The state ranked 34th in education.
Natural environment and opportunity also pulled 31st place.
How does this affect you and your family? See how each element stacks up nationally.
How does Mississippi health care rank nationally?
Mississippi was 50th on health care? Why?
The score was based on three main areas: health care access, quality and public health. Mississippi scored last on access and quality. We got 48th for public health.
About 15.2% of residents don’t have insurance. That’s significantly higher than the national average of 10.2%.
The obesity rate is 40.4%, which is higher than the national average of 33.8%
The state averages 3,367 preventable hospital admissions out of every 100,000 Medicare patients. The national average is 2,726.
Mississippi crime by the numbers
Mississippi ranked 20th in the nation on crime and corrections. Here’s how that score breaks down.
The state ranked 11th on public safety but 42nd for corrections outcomes.
According to the data, 661 residents out of 100,000 are incarcerated, which is higher than the national average of 306.
About 25 juveniles out of 100,000 are incarcerated, which is lower than the national average of 41.
The violent crime rate is 203 out of 100,000, and the national average is 348.
What to know about the Mississippi economy
Mississippi ranked 49th in the nation in terms of economy.
That score breaks down to:
- Business environment: 48th.
- Employment: 47th.
- Growth: 43rd.
The state significantly underperformed the national averages regarding venture capital per $1,000 of GDP, job growth, and net migration.
How do Mississippi K-12 schools and universities score?
Mississippi scored 34th on education. Pre-K through 12th took 34th places, and higher ed took 29th in the U.S.
The state had a high school graduation rate of 89.4%, which is just over the national average of 85.8%. But NAEP math scores were 269, just under the national average of 273.
The average Mississippian’s debt at graduation is $13,323, which slightly lower than the $13,7290 national average.
Mississippi scores poorly on energy, Internet, roads and bridges
The state took 47th on infrastructure. The score included energy (46th), internet access (48th) and transportation (46th).
The average commute time in the state matched the national average at 25 minutes.
But Mississippi came in at around half the U.S. national average for renewable energy (10.8%) with 5.9%.
About 29.8% of roads in the state are considered to be in poor condition. The national average is 17.5%.
How financially stable is the Mississippi state government?
Mississippi state government scores low for fiscal stability, meaning how likely it can keep up the programs that lead to a better quality of life for residents.
The state ranked 47th: 46th for long-term and 44th for short-term.
The state has a Aa2 credit rating from Moody’s, meaning there’s a low risk to issuing it credit.
Mississippi score 1.121 on budget balancing, which is near the national average of 1.33.
How liquid state funds are drew down the ranking. The state ranked 34.7 in liquidity, and the national average was 99.4.
What to know about Mississippi pollution and air and water quality
The Magnolia State ranked 31st in the nation on environmental concerns. Analysts looked at air and water quality (33rd) and pollution (30th).
The national average for days with unhealthy air quality is 143. Mississippi outperformed that with 187.
There’s one drinking water violation point per person out of 1,0000 customers, which is lower than the national average of 3.26.
The state, however, outpaces the national average of 901 pounds of industrial toxins per square mile with 987.
What does opportunity look like in Mississippi?
Overall, the state took 31st for opportunity.
Mississippi ranks second for affordability, 35th for equality and 49th for economic opportunity.
The cost of living is 87.3, lower than the national average of 100.
But the median household income of $54,203 is lower than the national average of $76,976. And the poverty rate of 18% outpaces the national average of 12.2%.
See the Top 10 Best States
U.S. News & World Report ranked the following as the best 10 states in the U.S. overall:
- Utah.
- New Hampshire.
- Idaho.
- Minnesota.
- Nebraska.
- Florida.
- Vermont.
- South Dakota.
- Massachusetts.
- Washington.
What are the Top 10 Worst States?
U.S. News & World Report ranked the following as the worst10 states in the U.S. overall:
- Louisiana.
- Alaska.
- Mississippi.
- New Mexico.
- West Virginia.
- Alabama.
- Arkansas.
- Michigan.
- Oklahoma.
- Pennsylvannia.
- South Carolina.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
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