Prairie State Wire

Illinois ranks among the 15 best states to live in, according to a new WalletHub study that measured considerations such as cost of living, job prospects, quality of education and overall safety.

The Prairie State earned an overall score of 55.47 in the study, which made its evaluations on a 100-point scale. In comparison, No. 1 Massachusetts received a score of 62.65. Illinois ranked fourth in the quality-of-life category and seventh for safety.

On affordability, Illinois came in 36th, and the state was dead last in the economy category and 23rd in education and health, WalletHub reported.

The analysis ranked the 50 states on 52 different metrics of livability, ranging from housing costs and income growth to the quality of hospitals and the education level of its residents. Statistics on types of attractions, recreational facilities and weather were also included.

In the category of most restaurants per capita, Illinois came in fifth behind California, New York, Florida and Texas.

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Most Livable States in 2022 

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Affordability	Economy	Education & Health	Quality of Life	Safety
1	Massachusetts	62.65	44	10	1	6	4
2	New Jersey	62.01	48	39	5	7	1
3	New York	60.64	46	37	16	1	2
4	Idaho	58.73	13	9	29	22	6
5	Virginia	58.73	16	23	15	20	11
6	New Hampshire	58.25	40	7	6	36	5
7	Florida	58.07	33	6	25	5	15
8	Wyoming	58	8	16	32	39	3
9	Minnesota	57.99	12	25	9	8	31
10	Wisconsin	57.92	32	24	13	10	12
11	Maine	57.55	35	12	7	25	10
12	Vermont	57.52	43	8	2	42	9
13	Utah	56.84	6	2	8	29	41
14	Pennsylvania	56.42	30	38	21	3	16
15	Illinois	55.47	36	50	23	4	7
16	Iowa	55.37	20	28	18	17	21
17	Maryland	54.4	38	31	12	31	13
18	North Dakota	54.17	29	1	26	38	26
19	Montana	53.75	27	3	19	28	39
20	Colorado	53.37	28	18	10	12	43
21	South Dakota	53.13	23	5	27	41	29
22	Nebraska	53.08	31	20	17	32	28
23	Kansas	52.47	24	19	28	27	25
24	Delaware	52.33	21	29	22	48	17
25	Connecticut	52.21	45	46	3	24	14
26	Washington	52.11	37	4	14	9	48
27	California	52.03	50	15	24	2	27
28	Rhode Island	51.65	47	35	11	44	8
29	North Carolina	51.51	18	17	31	16	36
30	Michigan	50.87	15	47	33	14	23
31	Georgia	50.76	17	13	43	18	22
32	Indiana	49.4	3	43	37	33	24
33	Ohio	49.32	22	48	38	15	19
34	Texas	49	34	26	36	11	33
35	Oregon	48.97	41	11	20	13	44
36	Tennessee	48.85	9	21	40	34	38
37	Missouri	48.79	5	33	34	23	42
38	Arizona	48.31	25	14	39	21	40
39	Nevada	47.58	39	41	35	19	18
40	Hawaii	47.46	49	30	4	43	37
41	West Virginia	46.84	2	44	44	45	20
42	Kentucky	46.39	10	42	41	47	30
43	Alabama	45.61	1	40	48	40	32
44	Oklahoma	43.82	14	32	47	35	46
45	South Carolina	43.8	11	27	46	26	49
46	New Mexico	42.51	26	36	42	30	50
47	Arkansas	42.42	4	34	45	46	47
48	Louisiana	41.74	19	45	49	37	35
49	Alaska	40.93	42	22	30	50	45
50	Mississippi	39.77	7	49	50	49	34

Source: WalletHub.com