Here's How New Jersey Compares In New Best States Ranking

New Jersey is the 20th best in the country in a new ranking Wednesday that shows how well states are working for the people who live there.

Rather than focus on any one issue, U.S. News & World Report pulled together dozens of measures covering health care, education, the economy, infrastructure, public safety, opportunity and other factors that shape everyday life for its 2026 Best States Rankings.

To determine the rankings, categories were weighted differently according to a public survey on key priorities. The most critical areas identified were healthcare and education, receiving the highest importance.

These were followed by state economies, infrastructure, and citizen opportunity. Fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and the natural environment were also factored in, with fiscal stability carrying slightly more weight than the latter two.

Where New Jersey Shines

With a GDP of $887.2 billion, U.S. News notes that New Jersey "has world-class universities, leading technology and biological science firms and one fast turnpike."

The median salary is $104,294, though NJ falls to the bottom when it comes to long-term fiscal stability - with a ranking of 49.

NJ ranks highly when it comes to education and health care, coming in at 2 and 6, respectively. The state is no. 1 when it comes to preschool through 12th grade education.

It ranks low when it comes to opportunity. Despite being ranked no. 3 for opportunity, it comes in at no. 49 for affordability.

Here’s where New Jersey ranked in the following categories:

Crime and corrections: No. 11

Education: No. 2

Health care: No. 6

Natural environment: No. 28

Economy: No. 36

Fiscal stability: No. 49

Infrastructure: No. 12

Opportunity: No. 44

The top 10 states in the U.S. News ranking are, respectively, Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, Washington and Vermont.