Best States 2017 > Arizona Overall Rank = #34 Out of 50

Best States 2017: How They Were Ranked

Here's a look at the data behind our rankings.

By Lindsey Cook | Data Editor 28 Feb 2017

Viewed as a whole, it's a news analysis and rankings platform designed to inform engaged citizens, business leaders and policymakers alike about what's working and what needs improvement across the country."
 

Methodology

The overall Best State ranking from U.S. News & World Report shows how each of the 50 U.S. states ranks in 68 metrics across seven categories.
The data behind the rankings were based on McKinsey & Company’s Leading States Index.
Source: U.S. News World Report

Across the board, transparency and some light on these issues is very valuable.
In calculating the rankings, each of the seven categories were assigned weightings based on a national survey that asked people to prioritize each subject in their state:

• Health Care: 18 percent
• Education: 16 percent
• Infrastructure: 14 percent
• Crime & Corrections: 14 percent
• Opportunity: 14 percent
• Economy: 13 percent
• Government: 10 percent

Note: Weights don’t add to 100 due to rounding.

Data/Infographic link for Arizona can be accessed here

 

Overall Rank Out of 50	#34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An article  from CNBC had this to say:

As many balances of power shift from Washington, D.C., to the states, it's essential to understand which states are doing best at what matters most to Americans.
The central American contract is a constitutional pact the states made with the federal government — starting with the original colonies and continuing with each admission to the union through Hawaii: "Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution... are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Now, in the first objective, authoritative measure taken of all the states across a comprehensive range of critical issues, U.S. News and World Report is telling a revealing new story about which ones are performing best for their citizens.

In a union such as this, each state has something to learn from the others. Some have better health care, some better education, some more economic opportunity for their citizenry. Drawing any comparisons should be more than a matter of bragging rights. It requires clear-eyed measures to make real judgments.
That's what Best States is all about. It's a platform for not only rankings, but also ongoing fresh reporting about news, trends and developments state by state.

"In each of the seven categories, we identified multiple metrics, all of which are well known and the best metrics in each of the categories that we're talking about,'' says Andre Dua, a senior partner at McKinsey.

"We feel very confident about both the granularity of the metrics and the quality of the metrics. And the thing that gives us more confidence is, we are completely transparent about what are the metrics and where the metrics come from."

"We think it's incredibly important in thinking about state performance, state policy making, agenda setting, to start by grounding yourself in the view of citizens," Dua says, speaking to the value of the ultimate comparisons that are made state by state. "Without data on performance and without data on citizen satisfaction, any other judgment you make on priorities and where to focus is simply guesswork."

 

36% college educated

Overall Rank Out of 50	#34
Health Care	#28
Education	#43
Crime & Corrections	#39
Infrastructure	#12
Opportunity	#33
Economy	#19
Government	#26