Great news for anyone living in Iowa in 2024! Iowa is considered one of the best states to live in this year.

When you spend a lot of time on the internet searching for interesting or unique stories about Iowa (like I do), you come across studies like this all of the time. Studies that compare states and discover which ones are "better" or ranked higher than others.

For example; Where does Iowa rank for at-risk youth? Or, where does Iowa rank on drug use for all 50 states? How much money does it take to be rich in Iowa, compared to the rest of the country?

When you see as many studies as I have where states are compared against each other, you start to notice a pattern in Iowa's rankings. Iowa is generally found somewhere in the above-average range. You can generally find Iowa ranked somewhere around the 15th-20th best.

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NOT TODAY! According to US News, Iowa is one of the best states to live in.

Iowa Rankings

For the past 6 years, US News has ranked the best states to live in, and in 2024, Iowa is ranked 6th. Like most studies that compare states, multiple metrics were used to determine these findings.

The study looked at things such as; crime & corrections, Economy, Education, Fiscal Stability, Health Care, Infrastructure, Natural Environment, and Opportunity. There were 3 categories Iowa performed very well in, with two categories Iowa was ranked in the top 10.

According to US News, Iowa ranked 10th in infrastructure, which is used to determine the quality of life for Iowa citizens. Things such as renewable energy, quality of roads, quality of bridges, access to high-speed internet, etc. Iowa's infrastructure is considered to be better than 40 states, in 2024.

Where Iowa shines the brightest is in the "Opportunity" category. Iowa finished as the 3rd best state. The state motto on the Welcome to Iowa sign is "Fields of opportunity" and it turns out that the motto is 100% true in 2024.

The metrics used for opportunity are ranked from; economic opportunity, affordability, equality, ability to to find schooling, etc.

Top 5 States

Iowa is one of 3 midwestern states to reach the top 10. The Top 5 best states in America are; 5 - Idaho, 4 - Minnesota, 3 - Nebraska, 2 - New Hampshire, and number 1 is...Utah.

We know that some people might consider Iowa a flyover state or there are more popular states to plan a summer vacation but for those of us who live and work here every day, we can brag that we live in one of the best states in America!