New Ranking Confirms Maine Is One of America’s Best States to Live

If you live in Maine, you already know just how special this state is.

Still, it’s always nice to see Maine get some well-deserved national recognition, especially in articles like this recently published one.

Is Maine One of the Best States in the Nation?

Wallethub.com, a personal finance website, released its annual report of the best and worst states to live in. It should be no surprise to see Maine land near the top. The Pine Tree State came in with a more than respectable 15th place ranking.

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Maine finished right behind Montana and just ahead of North Dakota on the list, which saw Idaho take the top spot for best of the states.

Maine's total score was a 54.78 out of a possible 100 points. The points system was based on five major categories: Affordability, Economy, Quality of Life, Education & Health, and Safety. These categories were broken down into 51 subcategories to make it as detailed as possible. You can read more about the methodology here.

Maine was a bit inconsistent in its scoring. While the state ranked a little lower in Affordability (34th, which seems about right) and Quality of Life (25th, which seems way too low), it finished respectably in both Economy (18th) and Safety (14th). Maine’s strongest showing came in Education & Health, where it ranked 11th. I guess this is a pretty good category to finish highest in, considering it’s, you know, kind of important!

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These rankings seem pretty accurate from a general standpoint. However, I’m a little surprised to see Quality of Life as low as it is. Maine is pretty darn close to perfect, in my view. There are very few people, very little traffic, the entire state is an outdoor playground, the arts and athletics scenes are strong, and I don’t think I need to mention how incredible the food scene is.

As for the other categories, no major issues. They all seem quite accurate when compared to Maine’s peers.

Should Maine be ranked higher? Call me biased, but I think so. However, that’s me simply looking at some very basic factors and not the in-depth picture that WalletHub analyzed.

What are the Best States to Live in New England?

As a whole, New England had mixed results. Here’s a closer look at how the rest of the region ranked:

4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire
19. Vermont
22. Connecticut
23. Rhode Island

READ MORE: These Underrated Portland, Maine, Joints Deserve More Love

What did WalletHub’s study say was the worst state to live in? That would be New Mexico. Hey, I’ve driven through New Mexico. That is one badass state, but apparently not the best place to reside.

You can check out the full rankings here.