According to a 2017 study of all 50 states by US News, here is how Maine ranks on seven criteria and on an overall assessment of the combined measures. It ranks high on Crime (low rates) and Opportunity (see below). While in the middle regarding Education, and fair in Health Care,the state is below par on its Economy and Government effectiveness. Overall Maine ranks 18th when considering all measures.

U.S.		Hlt	Edu	CrC	Inf	Opp	Eco	Gov
18	ME	16	28	2	30	3	42	39
1	MA	2	1	7	19	16	5	16
2	NH	4	3	12	13	1	13	30
10	VT	6	15	1	28	10	33	21
12	CT	12	4	8	26	15	38	20
21	RI	7	31	3	35	32	18	38

Ranking Categories

Hlt Health Care

The highest weighted ranking looks at health care access and affordability, health care quality and health outcomes for citizens. Health care access looks at adults and children without medical and dental care, including the cost. Health care quality tracks the hospital readmission rates, Medicare plan ratings and the quality of nursing homes. Public health ranking measures rates of obesity, smoking, suicide, mental health and mortality for adults and infants.

Edu Education

Measures included the following: percentages of adults with associate’s degrees or higher, the rates of students completing public four-year and two-year college programs within 150 percent of the normal time, the average tuition and fees for in-state students at public institutions and the average debt of graduates from public and private colleges alike; percentages of children enrolled in preschool and on 10 basic criteria for the quality of preschools, including teacher training, class size and teacher-to-student ratios. They were compared in national testing of eighth-graders in math and reading, in rates of graduation from high school and readiness for college.

CrC Crime and Corrections

Rankings included: rates of both violent and property crimes, and management of prison systems and parole and probation programs; violent crime rates – including murder; property crime rates – such as burglary. For corrections, states with lower rates of incarceration for both adults and juveniles, scored higher. They were measured on how rates of incarceration had changed over three recent years. States with overcrowded prisons scored lower. States also were evaluated on the percentage of paroles categorized as complete.

Inf Infrastructure

Metrics included public transit use and average commute times; the number of structurally deficient bridges and major roads in poor condition. It also included the use of renewable energy consumption on the roadways and the reliability and cost of electrical power grid service. Internet service considered both household access and the speed of online services provided.

Opp Opportunity

The states were ranked in their capacity for providing opportunities for all their citizens. This included counting income inequality in each state, the household income of a state’s residents and the percent of households living under the poverty line, and the share of households where sustainable food isn’t always available; the median housing prices in comparison with median family income; gaps in educational achievement and employment and unemployment rates between whites and Asians compared to other minorities. And the ratio of men and women in the labor force, including professional, leadership and management positions, was considered as well as educational attainment and political representation for women.

Eco Economy

The states’ economies were ranked ranging from employment and job growth to the overall growth of each state’s gross domestic product between 2012 and 2015. Job growth was measured between 2012 and 2015. Participation in the labor force for everyone 16 and older was measured. The numbers of people moving in and out of a state were taken into account, as was the growth of the youngest cohort of citizens. Entrepreneurship was measured as a “business birth rate,’’ while patents were counted per one million population.

Gov Government

The effectiveness of government administration was measured by several benchmarks. Use of digital technology was taken into account – both in how their computer systems inform their decisions and management, streamlining operations and improving services, and in how government interfaces with the general public. This includes the online access that state governments provide to information about state budgeting and spending. Financial health was a factor, including credit ratings, budget balancing and public pension liabilities. Systems in place to deter corruption in state government, including auditing procedures and public access to information about political financing, lobbyist disclosure and enforcement of ethics were considered.

Source: “Best States.” U.S. News. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings (accessed February 23, 2018)

How Maine Ranks