politics
CNBC Ranks Ten Republican-Led States Worst for Quality of Life
The rankings, released July 13, placed Arkansas through Tennessee at the bottom of the list. The quality-of-life category now accounts for 11.6 percent of each state's overall score in the annual business study.
Jul 14, 7:17 AM·1m read1 source
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CNBC released its annual quality-of-life rankings on July 13, 2026, naming Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee as the ten worst states. All ten states are Republican-led and supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, New York Post reported.
The quality-of-life category made up 11.6 percent of a state's overall score in the 2026 America's Top States for Business study, an increase from about 10 percent the prior year.
CNBC based the scores on hard data including crime rates, air quality, and healthcare access, while also penalizing states for the absence of certain antidiscrimination protections and for restrictive abortion laws. Tennessee received specific criticism for its bathroom law requiring individuals to use facilities matching their biological sex at birth and for a measure preventing localities from enacting their own antidiscrimination rules.
The state was also noted for a joint resolution signed by Gov.
Bill Lee in April 2026 that designated June as Nuclear Family Month. Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was cited for its $7.25 minimum wage along with limited childcare availability and air quality concerns. California Gov.
Gavin Newsom posted on X that every state on the list leaned Republican. Conservative commentators and residents of the listed states pointed instead to net migration gains, with Texas adding more than 67,000 residents and Tennessee adding more than 42,000, New York Post reported. U.S.
Census Bureau figures showed Los Angeles County population falling from roughly 10 million in 2020 to about 9.7 million by July 2026, including a loss of more than 56,000 residents in one recent year. New York City also recorded continued net negative domestic migration, according to the Citizens Budget Commission.
