Where Does Montana Rank For Best States To Live?

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

For many Montanans, the idea of transplants continuing to flock to the state is almost too much to handle.  Anytime I write an article praising the great state we live in, I'm always scolded for sharing that info with the public. It seems some Montanans fear that more people will find out about all the good stuff Montana has to offer and end up moving here.

On the other hand, you don't want to put yourself in a position that deters folks from moving here like high crime, a poor education system, or a rotten economy.  While that might keep the out-of-staters away, it's certainly not good for those living here now.

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So where do we rank as far as the best states to live?  According to US News and World Report, it looks like we have some work to do.

In fact, the only area that we're doing very well in is the economy category. The report states that Montana is ranked 6th in the nation as far as the economy goes. So where do we rank in the other categories?

• Crime and Corrections 37th
• Education 25th
• Healthcare 35th
• Natural Environment 33rd
• Fiscal Stability 22nd
• Infrastructure 18th
• Opportunity 27th

When you combine all of those scores together, Montana ends up right in the middle of the pack with an overall ranking of 25th in the United States. While we're nowhere near the bottom, we're also not very close to the top and for many Montanans, that's just fine.

However, other residents of the state who might be a little more forward-thinking certainly wouldn't mind seeing some of those scores come down a little, especially crime, corrections, healthcare, and opportunity.

So what's the solution? Who knows, but you can bet that many of us won't agree with it no matter what it is.