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CNBC survey mocked after ranking all red states as top 10 ‘worst places to live’
CNBC's annual "America's Top States for Business" report ranked all 10 Republican-led states at the bottom of its quality-of-life list, prompting accusations of bias on social media, particularly given that some of these states are seeing strong population growth according to US Census data. Critics argued the ranking methodology, which factors in issues such as reproductive rights and inclusiveness of state laws alongside crime and healthcare data, reflects a liberal-leaning bias rather than an objective quality-of-life measure.
The 10 states ranked worst, from tenth to first, were Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee, all of which backed Donald Trump in the 2024 election. CNBC said quality of life now makes up 11.6% of a state's overall competitiveness score, up from about 10% the previous year, with factors including crime rates, air quality, healthcare, childcare costs and availability, and reproductive rights.
In short
- CNBC ranked all 10 Republican-led states as worst for quality of life
- Critics cited Census data showing those states have strong population growth
- Ranking criteria include reproductive rights and inclusiveness of state laws
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The ranking places all 10 lowest-performing states as those backing Trump in 2024, which seems statistically improbable for an objective assessment and raises legitimate questions about methodology. Critics argue that factors like 'reproductive rights' and 'inclusiveness,' given increased weighting, reflect subjective political values rather than neutral quality-of-life measurement, particularly when combined with objective data in ways that systematically disadvantage conservative-leaning states.
The case against
Quality of life necessarily encompasses access to reproductive healthcare, legal protections against discrimination, and other dimensions affecting daily wellbeing alongside measurable metrics like crime and healthcare. The methodology is transparent and consistently applied; that red states rank lower reflects genuine policy differences on these substantive matters rather than bias. Population growth is driven by multiple factors including employment opportunities and housing costs in other regions, and does not contradict broader quality-of-life assessments grounded in systematic data.
Explained simply
CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business report compares states on factors linked to business and residents’ lives. Its quality-of-life measure combines information such as crime, air quality, healthcare and childcare with assessments of state laws, including those affecting reproductive rights.
The ten states at the bottom of that measure all voted for Donald Trump in 2024. Some critics say the mix of measures reflects political assumptions, while others point to population growth in several of the states as a reason to question what the ranking captures. The debate matters because the score is one part of a wider comparison of states’ appeal to businesses.