Texas the worst state to live in, CNBC ranking says
If your ZIP code falls in between 73301 to 88595, congratulations: you live in the worst state in the country, according to a new ranking from CNBC.
Texas has spent the last decade at the top of the list for business but the bottom half for quality of life. This year brought two firsts: Texas dropped out of the top five states for business, placing 6th, and ranked dead last as a place to live. The state's newest laws prohibiting the use of diversity equity and inclusion in state-funded higher education, banning transgender healthcare for minors and severely restricting access to abortions were all labeled as reasons for the state's decline.
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Texas's quality of life ranking has been on a downward trend since 2017, but 2021 was the state's first official appearance on CNBC's list of the 10 worst states to live in, with only Arizona keeping it from the very bottom. CNBC noted Texas may have ranked last if state Democrats hadn't staged a walkout that killed a controversial voting restriction bill.
"For all its strength as a place to do business, Texas keeps trying to outdo itself when it comes to laws and policies that are seen as exclusionary," the ranking noted.
Texas's placement stayed the same in 2022, before it went to the bottom this year for "reproductive rights, health, voting rights, worker protections, (and) inclusiveness."
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Despite the poor ranking, Texas and the Houston area in particular have continued to attract new residents every year. Customer data from U-Haul has ranked Texas as the most popular state to move to for the past two years in a row, with Missouri City and Conroe ranking amongst the top 25 growing cities in the U.S. Pods Enterprises, a moving and storage company, also recently named Houston the fifth most popular relocation destination in the U.S., up from No. 12 last year.
"When I ask people why they are moving to Texas, they usually say things are too expensive everywhere else – and there are jobs in Texas," D-An Smith, general manager at U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Stafford in Fort Bend County, told the Chronicle. "The houses are similar to what you would find in California, but for less than half the price."
Gov. Greg Abbott also defended Texas, praising the state's lack of personal income taxes, concentration of Fortune 500 companies and young workforce in a statement emailed to CNBC.
“People and businesses vote with their feet, and continually they are choosing to move to Texas more than any other state in the country,” a spokesman wrote.
Source: Houston Chronicle
