President Donald Trump speaks at the University of Alabama
President Donald Trump spoke at a pre-commencement event to graduates and supporters in Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama.
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2025 rankings of the best states, measuring how all 50 stack up across key categories like healthcare, education and the economy.
However, in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best States rankings, Alabama is near the bottom of the list.
Here’s how Alabama stacked up and what held it back.
What were the states graded on?
The Best States rankings have graded all 50 states on eight key factors since 2017:
- Healthcare
- Education
- Economy
- Infrastructure
- Opportunity
- Fiscal stability
- Crime & Corrections
- Natural environment
Where did Alabama land in the rankings?
Alabama landed at No. 45 in the 2025 U.S. News Best States rankings. Here’s a breakdown of how the state scored across the eight key factors that shaped its overall rankings:
- Crime & corrections: 29th
- Economy: 36th
- Education: 44th
- Fiscal stability: 31st
- Health care: 40th
- Infrastructure: 33rd
- Natural environment: 33rd
- Opportunity: 26th
Education and Healthcare lowest ranked on the states report card
Alabama ranks in the bottom 10 for education, with higher education at 42nd and Pre-K through 12th grade at 43rd. Despite these low rankings, the state boasts a 90% graduation rate, above the national average of 85.8%. However, Alabama falls below the national averages in student debt and NAEP math scores. While the national student debt average is $13,720, Alabama students carry an average debt of $14,147. In NAEP math scores, the state’s average of 262 is lower than the national average of 273.
In healthcare, 12.9% of Alabama’s population lacks insurance, and the state has an obesity rate of 39.4%, higher than the national average.
Top 10 states in the U.S.
Here are the best 10 states in the U.S. according to U.S. News & World Report:
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Vermont
- South Dakota
- Massachusetts
- Washington
The lowest-ranked states in the U.S.
These are the 10 lowest-ranked states in the U.S. for 2025:
- Pennsylvania
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- Mississippi
- Alaska
- Louisiana
Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at [email protected].
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