While the labor market may have somewhat calmed down, many more job opportunities remain than candidates available nationwide. This implies that skilled labor is still in high demand.
Hence, businesses looking to hire top talent choose to locate in states with excellent living standards. Some states would gladly comply, but these are not those states. These are the worst states in the United States to live and work in.
Quality of Life in America’s Top States for Business
Every year, quality of life is considered in addition to the ten competitiveness factors used to rank the states in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business study. Based on the methodology used this year, the Quality of Life category accounts for 13% of a state’s overall score.
Every state receives a score based on various livability standards, like air quality, crime rates, healthcare access, and child care. We also discuss legal protections against all forms of discrimination and labor protections. We examine individual freedom, which includes the right to have children. Here are the top ten worst states.
Texas
Texas’s quality of life rating is low despite a surge of 220,000 educated workers in 2022. The state has the highest rate of uninsured citizens and ranks at the bottom for primary care providers. In addition, medical debt collection accounts for 19% of Texans with credit ratings.
The state has a strong anti-LGBTQ+ law, strong abortion regulations, and no public accommodation rules protecting non-disabled people. The average cost of living is less than 10%, and unemployment benefits cover it. Texas’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 75 out of 325, or an F grade. Strengths include air quality, while reproductive rights, health care, voting rights, inclusivity, and labor protections are weaknesses.
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Indiana
With just 772 licensed childcare facilities serving nearly seven million people, Indiana has the lowest access to childcare in the nation, which drives up expenses. The cost of child care for a married couple comes to over 13% of their median income.
Targeting the LGBTQ+ population, the state has passed laws that prohibit gender-affirming treatment for minors and restrict the teaching of human sexuality in prekindergarten through third grade. Indiana receives a grade of F (78 out of 325) on the 2024 Quality of Life Score. Crime rates are one of the strengths; voting rights, inclusion, child care, and reproductive rights are the weaknesses.
Alabama
Alabama has adopted strict new restrictions on absentee voting, making it one of just three states that forbid early voting. According to Oxfam America, Alabama’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour covers less than 20% of the cost of living for a family of four, making it the state with the lowest wage policies.
Additionally, no laws in the state protect non-disabled people from discrimination in public accommodations. Alabama’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 83 out of 325, or an F grade. Strengths include child care, while weaknesses include voting rights, inclusivity, and workplace protections.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, which forbids abortions at any point unless they are necessary to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest.
The state has the third-highest obesity rate and third-lowest physical exercise rate, contributing to poor overall health. Oklahoma’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 85 out of 325, or a grade F. Despite its great air quality, its weaknesses include voting rights, workplace protections, health, and reproductive rights.
Arkansas
The second-highest violent crime rate in the nation is found in Arkansas, which also has weak anti-discrimination laws that do not provide protections for age, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or veteran status. However, it excels at delivering affordable child care; a married couple with a median income would spend only 9% of their income on it.
With a population of over three million, the state has almost 1,800 licensed childcare centers. Arkansas’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 93 out of 325, or an F grade. Child care is a strength; inclusion, crime, and voting rights are drawbacks.
Tennessee
Although Tennessee’s murder rate dropped by about 9% in 2022, the state still ranks among the most dangerous in the nation. Tennessee’s 2024 law, which includes prohibitions on placing LGBTQ+ foster children in supportive homes and a plan to disband the independent Human Rights Commission, has drawn criticism from the Human Rights Campaign for being discriminatory.
Tennessee’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 96 out of 325, or an F grade. Child care and air quality are the state’s strengths; crime, inclusivity, and health care are its drawbacks.
Missouri
During the COVID-19 epidemic, Missouri permitted early and mail-in voting, but it is still one of the hardest states to vote in, requiring a valid reason to vote by mail. With more than 30,000 offenses recorded in 2022, it has the sixth-highest crime rate in the nation.
Missouri’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is 98 out of 325, or a grade F. The state’s voting rights, criminality, and reproductive rights are among its shortcomings; air quality is one of its strengths.
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Louisiana
With more than 300 homicides in 2022, Louisiana has the fourth-highest violent crime rate in the nation. With high rates of obesity and early mortality, it is also the least healthy state.
However, regarding child care, Louisiana shines, with more than 1,800 licensed facilities serving 4.5 million residents. With a grade of F, the state’s 2024 Quality of Life Score is 100 out of 325. Child care is its strength; crime, health, and reproductive rights are its weaknesses.
Kansas
Kansas is among the most expensive states in the US for child care costs, with only 825 licensed centers serving 2.9 million residents. Child care accounts for over 14% of the income of a couple with a median income. In 2022, Kansas recorded more than 11,000 violent crimes despite its peaceful appearance.
Even though the crime rate is decreasing, it is still higher than the national average. With a grade of F, Kansas’s 2024 Quality of Life Score is 113 out of 325. Reproductive rights and health care are its strengths; child care, crime, and labor protections are its weaknesses.
Arizona
Without taking into account its extreme heat, Arizona has a low quality of life rating. The state’s air quality is terrible because of the substantial ozone pollution brought on by rising temperatures. Less than two hospital beds are available per 1,000 people, limiting healthcare access.
Despite the reversal of a near-total 1864 abortion ban, a 15-week prohibition still stands, and the old ban could potentially come back. Arizona’s Quality of Life Score for 2024 is D-with a 119 out of 325. Air quality, reproductive rights, and health care are weaknesses; crime rates, voting rights, and labor protections are strengths.
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