Using data collected from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, C2ER and the Gallup-Healthway Well-Being Index, MoneyRates.com determined that Texas is the second best state to make a living. The Lone Star State was only beat out by Washington, which received the number one spot for the second year in a row this year.
The score was determined by factoring in a state’s average salary, cost of living, employment rate and workplace conditions. Texas’ tax rate, coupled with its low unemployment and cost of living were instrumental in helping the state snag the second place spot.
Minnesota, Colorado and Utah joined Texas and Washington in the top five, while Connecticut, Rhode Island, Mississippi, New York, and Obama’s home state Hawaii were ranked as the worst places to make a living in 2014.
According to Forbes, a cost of living 157% above the national average and a poor economic environment may account for Hawaii’s bottom spot.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Texas should be ranked as one of the best places to make a living. Breitbart Texas recently reported that newly released census data showed that Texas is home to three of the top five fastest growing cities in the country, and is itself the fastest growing state in the country. Additionally, Texas’ business friendly climate has made it a mecca for innovative companies looking to expand their operations, and was declared the “country’s future” by TIME Magazine in 2013.
“For the past 10 to 12 years, every economic metric you look at (in Texas) is better than the country as a whole,” said Senior editor of Texas Monthly Erica Grieder to Reason Magazine. “Having a limited government apparatus on top of a robust private sector has been really good for us,” argued Grieder.
Follow Patrick Kane on Twitter @PatVKane.