U.S. News & World Report has now released its latest annual “Best States” ranking, looking at which areas performed best across a wide variety of metrics.

Researchers said that the used eight main factors to judge all 50 states: education, healthcare, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, natural environments, and crime/corrections.

Florida finished No. 8 overall in this year’s report, placing the state in the national Top 10 in a year when Midwest and Sun Belt states posted some of the biggest gains.

Where Florida ranks

From the 2026 rankings:

• Overall: No. 8
• Education: No. 3 (behind Colorado and New Jersey)
• Healthcare: No. 20
• Economy: No. 7
• Infrastructure: No. 11
• Opportunity: No. 47
• Fiscal Stability: No. 16
• Natural Environment: No. 15
• Crime & Corrections: No. 14

While Florida managed to crack the overall Top 10 — alongside Utah (No. 1), South Dakota (No. 2) and Minnesota (No. 3) — it actually fell from its No. 6 spot last year.

Florida’s takeaway

Florida’s overall showing suggests a strong balance across the scorecard — and its Top 3 finish in Education stands out as a clear bright spot in 2026.

But again, the Sunshine State fell from its No. 1 spot last year for its Economy and Higher Education.

Who else made headlines

• Utah stayed No. 1 overall for the fourth straight year, but ranked No. 48 in Natural Environment.
• Texas jumped to No. 1 in Economy.
• North Dakota surged from No. 12 to No. 4 overall, part of a Midwest-heavy reshuffle near the top.

The full ranking is as follows:

Legacy codes

Meanwhile, the full breakdown of factors used in the study is as follows:

• EDUCATION (15.79%)
• • Higher Education — Includes graduation rates, tuition and educational attainment
  • Pre-K-12 — Includes college readiness, graduation rates, and test scores
• HEALTHCARE (15.51%)
• • Healthcare Access — Includes insurance enrollment, medical visits, and affordability
  • Healthcare Quality — Includes quality of Medicare, nursing homes and hospitals
  • Public Health — Includes rates of mortality, obesity, smoking and suicide
• ECONOMY (12.88%)
• • Business Environment — Includes business creation rate, patent creation rate, low tax burden, and top company headquarters
  • Employment — Includes job growth, unemployment rates, and labor force participation
  • Growth — Includes net migration, GDP growth, and growth of young population
• INFRASTRUCTURE (12.74%)
• • Energy — Includes electricity price, power grid reliability, and renewable energy usage
  • Internet Access — Includes broadband subscription rate and access to gigabit internet
  • Transportation — Includes bridge quality, commute time, public transit usage, and road quality
• OPPORTUNITY (12.20%)
• • Affordability — Includes cost of living and housing affordability
  • Economic Opportunity — Includes food insecurity, household income and poverty rates
  • Equality — Includes education and income gaps by race and gender
• FISCAL STABILITY (12.19%)
• • Long-Term Fiscal Stability — Includes government credit rating and pension fund liability
  • Short-Term Fiscal Stability — Includes liquidity and budget balancing
• NATURAL ENVIRONMENT (9.69%)
• • Air and Water Quality — Includes quality of air and drinking water
  • Pollution — Includes industrial toxins and pollution health risks
• CRIME & CORRECTIONS (9.01%)
• • Corrections Outcomes — Includes equality in jailing and incarceration rates
  • Public Safety — Includes rates of violent crime and property crime