The U.S. News and World Report released their inaugural Best State rankings on Tuesday, naming Massachusetts number one in the nation.
The report ranked the 50 states based on criteria such as education, healthcare, infrastructure and economy, representing how effectively states are able to serve their citizens, according to a press release.
In addition to its number one overall ranking, Massachusetts was ranked number one in the nation for its education system, according to U.S. News and World Report.
V. Scott Solberg, a professor of counseling psychology in the Boston University School of Education, said Massachusetts has been mobilizing efforts to prepare students for college, from preschool through high school.
“Massachusetts was one of the first states to evaluate what was being produced out of education, and they started putting together a higher set of academic standards that they wanted all students to reach,” Solberg said.
Solberg said Boston’s many prestigious colleges and universities contribute to the quality of the education of the entire state.
“You have two of the top universities in the world with [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] and Harvard [University], and surrounding that … you have a huge intellectual capital that you just don’t have anywhere else in the country or even the world,” Solberg said. “These are research institutions that are engaged in breaking ground on all kinds of innovations.”
Solberg said this excellence in education positively affects other areas of policy as well, because businesses are more interested in moving to a state or city where students and potential employees are performing at a high level.
Massachusetts was also ranked the second-best state for health care, behind Hawaii. The state’s healthcare system is highly ranked because the state legislature is dedicated to consistently passing laws aimed at bettering the healthcare system, Stuart Altman, chair of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, wrote in an email.
“Massachusetts has passed health care reform laws in every legislative session since 2006 and is a national leader in delivering innovative and high-quality health care,” Altman wrote.
Despite its high rankings in other categories, Massachusetts ranked 45th in transportation and 42nd in energy.
Several Boston residents said while they feel Massachusetts excels in some categories highlighted in the survey, there is room for improvement.
Elizabeth Damon, 35, of Fenway, said she agreed with the low ranking of Massachusetts’ transportation system.
“I know some of the T lines are really slow,” Damon said. “I think that a lot of the neighborhoods close to Boston could be growing more and would give people more places to stay if they expanded the T to more cities and towns close to Boston.”
Carmen Gott, 25, of Dorchester, recently moved to Massachusetts from Kansas, and said she likes the walkability and community events in the commonwealth, although she thinks taxes are too high.
“[I would improve] taxes,” Gott said. “The taxes here are a lot different from where I’m from. [Also], with an out-of-state ID, you can’t buy alcohol.”
Mary Cappuccio, 28, of South Boston, said Massachusetts stands out because its politicians “actually listen.”
“I’m from South Boston, and [local politics has] changed immensely over the years,” Cappuccio said. “But, at the same time, [politicians] still care about what actual South Boston citizens care about.”
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