People in New England know it's a great place to live, and a new ranking offers them evidence that it's got the very best state to live in the nation.
Personal finance website WalletHub broke down the best and worst states to live in for 2022, based on a variety of different factors. Cost of living, job opportunities, education, safety, recreation and weather were among the metrics used to determine where states ranked.
The top state overall? Massachusetts, with the best education and health rankings for the U.S., as well as top 10 rankings for safety (4th), quality of life (6th) and economy (10th) -- though it was near the bottom in the country for affordability (44th).
Massachusetts edged out New Jersey for the No. 1 spot, and New York came third. But other parts of New England were well represented at the top of the list.
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New Hampshire came in No. 6, doing well in safety (5th), education & health (6th) and economy (7th), and Maine and Vermont just missed out on the top 10, coming in 11th and 12th place respectively.
The rest of New England finished right in the middle of the pack: Connecticut was in 25th, while Rhode Island landed in 28th.
Education and health were a particular strong suit of states in New England, according to WalletHub. Massachusetts topped the metric, followed by Vermont and Connecticut in second and third place.
