Launched in 2017, the rankings assess states across multiple categories, including crime and corrections, economy, education, fiscal stability, health care, infrastructure, natural environment and opportunity.
The news outlet cites Utah’s religiously-rooted culture and history, as well as the shared faith of most of its population, as providing a strong quality of life for residents.
Utah’s resilient and diverse economy has never placed outside of the top five in the U.S. News rankings. This year the state was also No. 1 for financial stability.
The category covers metrics like liquidity, credit rating and budget balancing, meaning a state’s ration of total revenues to total expenses.
This year Utah was No. 3 in economy and top 10 for infrastructure, education and crime and corrections.
Rounding out the top five best states this year are New Hampshire at No. 2, Idaho, Minnesota and Nebraska.
To read the full breakdown of U.S. News’ Best States rankings click here.
