U.S. News & World Report unveiled its 2026 Best States rankings July 28. New Jersey, again, landed in the top half of the nation. 

The 2026 rankings evaluate all 50 states across categories including healthcare; education; economy; infrastructure; opportunity; fiscal stability; crime & corrections; and natural environment. 

U.S. News Executive Chairman and CEO Eric Gertler said the rankings “serve as a critical tool for understanding what drives long-term success in states across the country.” 

“These rankings objectively evaluate performance, identify opportunities for improvement and ways to learn from the successes of other states,” Gertler noted in the announcement accompanying the list. “By translating data into actionable insights, the rankings help policymakers, business leaders and residents make informed decisions to improve their lives.” 

New Jersey dropped to No. 20 on the overall Best States list, down from No. 19 in 2025. In 2024, the state came in at No. 14. 

Salutatorian

And while the Garden State was named No. 2 for education, it lost its first-place finish from last year to Colorado. 

U.S. News noted, “Colorado’s rise was powered by increases in associate’s degree completion and attainment rates, as well as substantial growth in preschool enrollment enabled by the Colorado Universal Preschool program.”

The publication highlighted several of New Jersey’s draws, including its “world-class universities, leading technology and biological science firms and one fast turnpike.”

Launched in 2017, the evaluation now includes 71 metrics. 

How New Jersey ranked on U.S. News’ 2026 Best States list

(followed by 2025 placements and this year’s subcategories under each): 

• No. 20: Overall down from No. 19 
• No. 2: Education down from No. 1 
  • No. 1: Pre-K-12 
  • No. 38: Higher education 
• No. 6: Healthcare down from No. 5 
  • No. 1: Public health 
  • No. 12: Healthcare access 
  • No. 22: Healthcare quality 
• No. 11: Crime and corrections down from No. 10 
  • No. 13: Public safety 
  • No. 17: Corrections outcomes 
• No. 12: Infrastructure same as last year 
  • No. 6: Internet access 
  • No. 15: Transportation 
  • No. 41: Energy 
• No. 28: Natural environment same as last year 
  • No. 14: Air and water quality 
  • No. 35: Pollution 
• No. 36: Economy down from No. 31 
  • No. 22: Growth 
  • No. 30: Business environment 
  • No. 45: Employment 
• No. 44: Opportunity up from No. 45 
  • No. 3: Economic opportunity 
  • No. 21: Equality 
  • No. 49: Affordability 
• No. 49: Financial stability same as last year 
  • No. 26: Short-term 
  • No. 49: Long-term 

For the fourth year in a row, Utah earned top recognition, followed by South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska. See the complete rankings here.

The U.S. News report follows other state evaluations. CNBC placed the state at No. 31 on its 2026 America’s Top States for Business rankings earlier this month. New Jersey also landed at No. 3 on WalletHub’s annual list of States Where People Have the Highest Income, unveiled in June.