California, Here We Come... In Last Place: Golden State Ranked 50th In 'Quality Of Life'
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) — For all its beauty, beaches and great weather, the Golden State doesn't do enough to ensure the well-being of its citizens. In fact, it does the least out of every state in the nation, according to this year's rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
The standings out this week placed California 50th in its Quality of Life category, behind New Jersey and Indiana. The publication said it takes into account environmental health, as prescribed by lawmakers, as well as residents' "interactions with those around them" to reach their findings.
Quality of Life is broken down into the "social environment" category, which includes community engagement, social support and voter participation. The second subcategory is "natural environment," which includes drinking water quality, low industrial toxins, low pollution health risk and urban air quality.
By comparison, "North Dakota and Minnesota are the most effective at promoting their citizens' well-being by providing both a healthy environment and a sense of social connectedness," the magazine said.
In the overall rankings, California came in 32nd place, ahead of Indiana and behind Georgia.
California did crack the top 10 in some categories, coming in 4th place for economy and 1st for venture capital.
Below are the complete rankings for California:
- #32 overall
- #11 in health care
- #26 in education
- #4 in economy
- #46 in opportunity
- #38 in infrastructure
- #28 in crime & corrections
- #43 in fiscal stability
- #50 in quality of life
