[ST. PAUL, MN] – Minnesota has been recognized as the third best state in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The Best States rankings evaluate all 50 states across a range of criteria, including education, health care, infrastructure and the economy.

“Minnesota’s success is not by chance,” said Governor Tim Walz. “Our investments in education, health care, and community prosperity make Minnesota a great place to live, work, and raise a family – but we can still do better. I’m committed to working together to make life even better for all Minnesotans, and continuing to invest in the things that make Minnesota one of the best states in the country.”

Minnesota is the only state to rank in the top three every year since 2017, when U.S. News began ranking Best States. The state did particularly well in the categories of natural environment (#3) and opportunity (#3).

The new rankings are available on the U.S. News Best States platform. For more information on Minnesota’s metrics, visit this page.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on education, health, money, travel, cars and civic, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

For the 2019 report, U.S. News streamlined the methodology to reflect more objective, transparent and comparable data across the framework. The rankings are based on more than 70 metrics and tens of thousands of data points. Adding to a set of annual surveys that determine the weights of the eight categories, U.S. News conducted a survey asking more than 23,000 people across the country to provide levels of satisfaction with government services and to prioritize where state governments should focus resources.