Louisiana has come in last on a ranking by U.S. News & World Report of the "best states" in the nation.
The ranking is based on scores for crime, education, infrastructure, health care and other measures of quality-of-life.
While the state was ranked 7th in state budget transparency and 18th in affordability, it was ranked 50th in crime and corrections, 49th in opportunity, and 46th in education.
It was listed 46th in the categories of economy and government, 45th in health care, and 39th in infrastructure.
U.S. News & World Report noted that Louisiana’s poverty rate in 2015 was nearly 20 percent, well above the national rate of of 14.7 percent. The median household income of $45,727 was below the national average of $55,775.
Through 2024, U.S. News says the state economy will see about 7% overall growth, with the professional and technical services, health care and social assistance, company management and accommodation and food services industries experiencing the sharpest employment increases.
The top 5 "best states" were Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington.