Minnesota is the 4th best state to live in, according to U.S. News

Minnesota improved its rankings from last year's U.S. News & World Report, whic has ranked it as the 4th best state to live in the United States.

In 2023 it ranked fifth, trailing only Utah, Washington, Idaho and Nebraska, but in this year's list it has leapfrogged Washington, coming in only behind Utah, New Hampshire and Nebraska respectively.

The media company's latest "Best States" rankings highlights Minnesota's natural environment, ranking No. 2 overall. Its lower scores are economy and crime and corrections, though at 26 and 22 respectively is still about average nationally.

The state has hovered around the top five in the past three rankings, ranking second overall in 2021. U.S. News & World Report didn't release a list in 2022.

According to U.S. News, the rankings process draws on "thousands of data points to measure how well a state is performing for its citizens." The data points are also weighted based on national surveys asking people to prioritize different subjects, like health care and education.

Here's the full list of where Minnesota ranks in 2024:

• Crime & Corrections : 22
• Economy : 26
• Education : 17
• Fiscal Stability : 7
• Health Care : 16
• Infrastructure : 9
• Natural Environment : 2
• Opportunity : 12

Three Midwest states made the top 10: Nebraska (3), Minnesota (4) and Iowa (6). South Dakota (11) and North Dakota (15) finished just outside. Wisconsin was ranked eighth on the list in 2023 but slipped to No. 17 overall this year.

For the second year in a row, Florida was ranked No. 1 overall in education, which is the result of its lower rate of debt at graduation and its high school graduation rate being higher than the national average.

However, the Tampa Bay Times also reports Florida ranks 50th amongst other states in classroom average educator pay, with only West Virginia faring worse.