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Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota Beat #14 South Dakota in State Ranking

Published 2018-03-01 by Cory Allen Heidelberger

Last updated on 2019-05-14

U.S. News and World Report issued its 2018 “Best States” rankings this week. If we’re known by the company we keep, then South Dakota came out really well:

Overall – Top 10
1. Iowa
2. Minnesota
3. Utah
4. North Dakota
5. New Hampshire
6. Washington
7. Nebraska
8. Massachusetts
9. Vermont
10. Colorado

Health Care
1. Hawaii
2. Washington
3. Iowa

Education
1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. Utah

Economy
1. Colorado
2. Utah
3. Washington

Opportunity
1. New Hampshire
2. Maryland
3. Minnesota

Infrastructure
1. Iowa
2. North Dakota
3. Oregon

Crime & Corrections
1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. New Jersey

Fiscal Stability
1. Utah
2. North Dakota
3. Florida

Quality of Life
1. North Dakota
2. Minnesota
3. Wisconsin

[“Iowa Is the Best State in the U.S., Says 2018 Best States Report,” U.S. News and World Report, 2018.02.27]

Four of the six states that border South Dakota made the overall top ten. North Dakota, which is colder, oilier, and doesn’t have Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, or the Corn Palace, made top three in eight categories.

But do we even need to look at the methodology to know that a survey ranking a place full of Iowegians as tops is hopelessly wrong?

The rankings are based on 77 metrics and tens of thousands of data points provided by McKinsey & Company’s Leading States Index. In determining the weights of the eight categories in the rankings, two years of data were used from McKinsey’s “citizen experience” survey, which asked more than 30,000 people to prioritize each subject in their state and provide levels of satisfaction with government services. Health care and education remain the most highly weighted factors in the methodology, followed closely by the economy [“Iowa…,” USN&WR, 2018.02.27].

South Dakota ranks 14th overall. Our rankings by category:

  • 4th: Fiscal Stability
  • 5th: Quality of Life
  • 7th: Infrastructure
  • 17th: Education
  • 21st: Health Care
  • 24th: Opportunity
  • 28th: Economy
  • 40th: Crime & Corrections

North Dakota beats us in every category. Minnesota beats us in every category except Fiscal Stability. Iowa beats us in every category but Fiscal Stability and Quality of Life.

Published in South Dakota

6 Comments

  1. mike from iowa

    Northern Mississippi is still numero uno in corruption, I’m guessing. Don’t get me wrong. I rather like the fact the stench in Pierre helps ameliorate the stench of thousands of hog cafos.

    2018-03-01
  2. Rorschach

    South Dakota is an austerity state. When Grandpa Cheap values austerity uber alles, the clamps are put on the economy, education, opportunity, healthcare (for the working poor denied medicaid expansion), and quality of life. Closed-mindedness like that exhibited by Al Novstrup doesn’t help ameliorate any of these problems either.

    2018-03-01
  4. Debbo

    I was surprised to see that Minn barely stayed in the top half, #24, on economy. If that survey had occurred when GOP gov Pawlenty had the reins, we would have been much lower because he tried to tank the economy according to the Brownback-in-Kansas-plan. We’ve been lucky to have 2.75 Democratic terms to repair the damage. A GOP state house has slowed our recovery.

    Regardless of how many times trickle down fails, GOP continues to be obsessed with it.

    2018-03-01
  5. Debbo

    Oops. The previous comment should have said 1.75 terms by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. He’s not running for reelection so this is his last year.

    BTW, I chuckled at SD’s economy ranking. I guess the state got points for consistency. Consistently at the bottom and consistently uber corrupt.

    2018-03-01
  6. OldSarg

    Being in the top 28% is not bad. The headline should have been “South Dakota Scores Better Than 72% of ALL States!”

    It also looks like our 40% in crime & corrections may have skewed the results a bit. . .

    Crime & Corrections NATIONAL RANK #40
    *Corrections #49: Our prisons are “uncomfortable”
    *Equality in Jailing #36: Yes, we send criminals to jail regardless of race. No Parkland schools here.
    *Least Juvenile Incarceration #47: Yes, we send criminals to jail
    *Low Incarceration Rate #3: Yes, we send criminals to jail
    *Low Recidivism Rate #32: Stupid is as stupid does. . .
    *Sexual Violence in Prisons #42: Maybe Jail is where they should be. . .
    *Public Safety #20: Top 60%

    Maybe we are on the right track. . .
    Low Property Crime Rate #15
    Low Violent Crime Rate #32

    2018-03-02

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