Washington among top 5 states according to U.S. News and World Report first ever Best States rankings

We all knew it. Now so does everyone else.

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Washington is among the best states in the nation on a number of fronts, confirms U.S. News and World Report. Washington ranked #5 overall, scoring highly on infrastructure, education and health care.

Celebratory #5 cake in the Governor’s Office in Olympia, Wash., Feb. 28, 2017. (Official Governor’s Office Photo)

For the first time ever, U.S. News evaluated states across 68 metrics to create the Best States rankings. Those rankings are based on tens of thousands of data points provided by McKinsey & Company’s Leading States Index.

Areas where Washington ranked highly:

#1 in affordable electricity prices

#1 in parole completion

#2 in renewable energy use

#3 in patent creation

#3 in child dental visits

#6 in government digitization

To calculate the rankings, categories were weighted based on a national “citizen experience” survey that asked people to prioritize each subject in their state and provide their levels of satisfaction with government services.

The other top five states were Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota and North Dakota.

The overall Best States ranking is determined from how each of the states ranks in seven main categories: health care, education, infrastructure, crime and corrections, opportunity, economy and government.

Washington’s full profile can be viewed in addition to comparisons with neighboring states.

More information on the Best States ranking: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings

U.S. News and World Report’s methodology: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/methodology

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