All 50 States & 5 Territories in the USA Ranked WORST to BEST (2025)

Ranking EVERY State and Territory in the United States of America from WORST to BEST!

We Ranked All 50 States & 5 Territories to live in the USA so you know where to move to and live! Find out which states or territories have the best cities & small towns to live in for 2024!

The United States of America is a very LARGE and DIVERSE country, with hundreds of different types of cultures, cities, and natural scenery. So in order to determine which states and territories are the best (and worst), we analyze a few categories including their economy, climate, cost of living, crime and safety, education, health, and quality of life. I also implemented the pros and cons of each location and my personal experiences as I have lived in 10 and visited 52 of the 55 states and territories on this list!

Whether you want empty space to homestead and buy cheap land, OR live in a big walkable city with plenty of amenities, the US has it all! So my biggest suggestion is to visit these cities, towns, and state before you decide where you want to move to and live.

[FromHeretoThere]

*Which US State or Territory would YOU want to live in the most?*

[iamjoestafford]

I'm British - us Europeans often think of the USA being similar from coast to coast, but this video really hammers home how different the states are. It's mindblowing to me that some states have worse life expectancies than Bangladesh while others are richer than Switzerland!

[TheGMPlayer]

The rank:

0:25 55) American Samoa
0:52 54) Northern Mariana Islands
1:14 53) Mississippi
1:37 52) Louisiana
2:00 51) Puerto Rico
2:31 50) Arkansas
2:48 49) New Mexico
3:04 48) U.S. Virgin Islands
3:37 47) West Virginia
4:02 46) Kentucky
4:25 45) Alabama
4:49 44) South Carolina
5:07 43) Oklahoma
5:32 42) Guam
6:11 41) Tennessee
6:52 (HM) Washington D.C.
7:11 40) Alaska
7:36 39) Michigan
7:57 38) Illinois
8:22 37) Missouri
8:52 36) Nevada
9:27 35) Arizona
9:57 34) Indiana
10:27 33) Texas
10:53 32) California
11:13 31) Ohio
11:38 30) Georgia
11:53 29) Delaware
12:17 28) Kansas
12:41 27) New York
13:05 26) Pennsylvania
13:46 25) Montana
14:15 24) Oregon
14:44 23) North Carolina
15:16 22) North Dakota
15:46 21) Rhode Island
16:18 20) South Dakota
16:39 19) Virginia
16:58 18) Florida
17:33 17) Maine
17:55 16) Iowa
18:21 15) Connecticut
18:48 14) New Jersey
19:11 13) Wisconsin
19:32 12) Colorado
19:52 11) Wyoming
20:06 10) Vermont
20:24 9) Maryland
20:44 8) Nebraska
20:53 7) Idaho
21:11 6) Minnesota
21:37 5) Washington
22:04 4) Hawaii
22:25 3) Utah
22:56 2) New Hampshire
23:14 1) Massachusetts

Took me 1 hour so if any errors tell me pls! 🙏

[BeaniebooHuskm]

ONLY STATES NOT TERRITORIES


1:14 Mississippi 50
1:38 Louisiana 49
2:33 Arkansas 48
2:51 New Mexico 47
3:38 West Virginia 46
4:06 Kentucky 45
4:32 Alabama 44
4:50 South Carolina 43
5:14 Oklahoma 42
6:12 Tennessee 41
7:12 Alaska 40
7:38 Michigan 39
7:59 Illinois 38
8:23 Missouri 37
8:55 Nevada 36
9:30 Arizona 35
9:58 Indiana 34
10:28 Texas 33
10:55 California 32
11:15 Ohio 31
11:40 Georgia 30
11:55 Delaware 29
12:22 Kansas 28
12:44 New York 27
13:06 Pennsylvania 26
13:48 Montana 25
14:16 Oregon 24
14:47 North Carolina 23
15:20 North Dakota 22
15:48 Rhode Island 21
16:21 South Dakota 20
16:40 Virginia 19
17:02 Florida 18
17:35 Maine 17
17:57 Iowa 16
18:25 Conneticut 15
18:50 New Jersey 14
19:13 Wisconsin 13
19:32 Colorado 12
19:55 Wyoming 11
20:07 Vermont 10
20:29 Maryland 9
20:47 Nebraska 8
20:54 Idaho 7
21:02 Minnesota 6
21:35 Washington 5
22:06 Hawaii 4
22:27 Utah 3
22:58 New Hampshire 2
23:15 Massachussets 1

[cyanidechryst]

As a resident of northern South Carolina, it’s relatively peaceful here. Most of the bad things in our state are in the central region. The cost of living where I live is very affordable, and the Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful. I can definitely see why people are moving to South Carolina.

[angelofthedead]

As someone from Nebraska, I think it’s easily the most consistent state. Everything is just… good! Small town are small and Omaha is Omaha. Could definitely have more to do at night… but there are some secret gems here and there

[benh]

We worked and lived in Massachusetts until our old bones were getting too cold there, so we retired and moved to Hawaii

[danielaraujo]

I literally watched your video yesterday and... boom! Updated ranking the next day, love it.

[Kaaee]

u were my favorite youtuber growing up and its great to see u doing what u love instead of making content about stuff u dont enjoy anymore

[shinykarp]

I was so excited for Virginia, and you talked about it for only 10 seconds!

[jonathancox-llzl]

It’s crazy that East Tennessee compared to middle and West Tennessee is like 1000, 000 to one is like heaven on earth

[behnyepez]

A BEST counties in the USA rank would be great

[oceanwood]

Amazing video! I love it, Very interesting 55 states & MA is the best finally 1.10.2024

[Ralphbros]

A video I have been waiting for!!! THANK YOU FROM HERE TO

[gvpjbtl]

Interesting ranking! Every city has unique aspects that make it special. Let's appreciate the diversity and work towards making each city the best it can be. Thanks for sharing this insightful perspective.

[thullraven]

FINALLY taking crime into consideration. Well done!

[cagedtigersteve]

55. American Samoa
54. Northern Mariana Islands
53. Mississippi
52. Louisiana
51. Puerto Rico
50. Arkansas
49. New Mexico
48. U.S. Virgin Islands
47. West Virginia
46. Kentucky
45. Alabama
44. South Carolina
43. Oklahoma
42. Guam
41. Tennessee
Washington D.C
40. Alaska
39. Michigan
38. Illinois
37. Missouri
36. Nevada
35. Arizona
34. Indiana
33. Texas
32. California
31. Ohio
30. Georgia
29. Delaware
28. Kansas
27. New York
26. Pennsylvania
25. Montana
24. Oregon
23. North Carolina
22. North Dakota
21. Rhode Island
20. South Dakota
19. Virginia
18. Florida
17. Maine
16. Iowa
15. Connecticut
14. New Jersey
13. Wisconsin
12. Colorado
11. Wyoming
10. Vermont
9. Maryland
8. Nebraska
7. Idaho
6. Minnesota
5. Washington
4. Hawaii
3. Utah
2. New Hampshire
1. Massachusetts

[Chillgaming]

Omg I have been waiting so long for this bc its been 3 years and I love these vids it helps me learn

[Clown-fgbx]

It’s great to see you doing well!! You were the first YouTube I’d stay up watching as a young child. It’s great to see you move on to different content!

[nickelfrizz]

If Massachusetts is the best state in the US then I don't want to be here anymore. Came out of college and worked for Amazon in Fall River, the place was a dump. Then I worked for a consulting company that worked in the greater Boston area, but because of the cost lf living I had to live in Worcester. I had to pay 1500 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment with only road side parking and it was infested with mice. We would hear the mice in the vents and walls, they would fall in the vent system, they were in our oven, we cooked burgers one day and an hour later there were two rolling in the grease in the pan. The celings were 12 feet high and the fire alarm would keep us up literally all night from randomly going off. The winters were harsh as well. I had to learn ways to get unburied from snow real quick. People will shovel out a roadside spot and or salt it, then guard it claiming the spot. So many homeless people. By far they had the WORST drivers. The traffic gets so bad that people got used to just inching out into the road until trafffic is forced to stop. And round abouts.... So many round abouts. Fun fact Worcester has one of THE WORST intersections in the US, its called Kelly Square, the 11 way no light intersection.