this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2026
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Original article - CNBC - These are America’s 10 worst states to live in for 2026

The list from 10-1: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee.

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[–] hactar42@lemmy.ml 134 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (23 children)

I moved from the second worst, Texas, to on of the top 5, Connecticut, last year. It has been the best decision of my entire life. It's so nice to have a Governor who advocates for more spending on education and public works. Versus wasting everyone's time fighting to put the 10 commandments in classrooms.

My kids went from learning about angels and Moses parting the Red Sea history class. Yes regular 3rd grade history, not some high school level theology elective. To this year being taught critical thinking skills and identifying and dealing with their emotions.

And don't even get me started on the differences in special education for my son with serve ASD and communication issues. In Texas he was just shoved in the back to prevent him from being a "burden". Now he loves going to school. I cried at his 8th grade graduation because before he could have never been in at a ceremony like that. Hearing the other kids cheer for him warmed my heart so much. He starts highschool in the fall, and is in a summer program run by the highschool to teach him life skills, like cooking, cleaning, working, all things we never thought possible for him.

Edit: I also went from having my representative in Congress being a carpetbagger nepo-baby, to a woman who grew up in public housing, became a teen mom, worked her way from community college all the way to a masters in education and was name Teacher of the Year 2016 for the entire United States

[–] Rekhyt@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Welcome to CT! It's nice here.

[–] hactar42@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 weeks ago

Thank you!

And you just showed another reason I'm glad I moved here. People are genuinely nice here. Everyone always talks about southern hospitality, but it's all just a front. Especially when they have billboards in Texas telling people to go back to California. Meanwhile every single person I've meet in CT has warmly welcomed me. I have wonderful neighbors who actually look out for each other. And I've never seen better customer service anywhere. Everyone here just seem happier which really makes the whole vibe feel more genuine.

[–] specseaweed@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

We moved from Texas to Seattle about 5 years ago (god, it's really been that long). After 15 years living in Texas and fighting the schools, the government, and the weather (our house flooded twice, including one that was a near total loss), Seattle felt like heaven. Still does.

My kids were in middle school and had survivors guilt about leaving, like we were letting everyone in Texas down by not staying and fighting. I had to explain that Texas passed a law to allow people to sue us (I volunteered at an abortion charity) and we gotta go.

My rep in Congress now is the leader of the progressive caucus. It's so weird to not be trying to chip away at the political situation and instead have someone that represents my beliefs.

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[–] tacosanonymous@mander.xyz 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I missed an opportunity to move to Hartford a couple years ago. I’m still sad about it. Love that you are loving it.

[–] fartographer@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

I have a comment about it somewhere in the Lemmies, but my family is from Texas, and my sister lived in Connecticut for a few years. Her children were still quite young when they all moved back to Texas, but there was still a noticeable drop in their development.

My sister did a pretty good job picking up the slack at home, but that's a burdensome undertaking for someone with fewer resources. Working in public education myself, I see why we're failing, and it's really sad. It's hard to create highly impactful lessons when your concerns are the students' safety and security at home, your own job security if you stray at all from approved materials, and showing care and respect for children in a way that doesn't get you fired for being "woke."

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[–] dephyre@lemmy.world 80 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait a second, you mean the states that continuously divert money away from education, healthcare, public works, infrastructure and everything that would possibly make the people who live there's lives better aren't very nice to live in?!

(Live in TN btw, and yea that list tracks)

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

you mean the states that continuously divert money away from education, healthcare, public works, infrastructure and everything

Hey now! You take that back!

Lots of these states are building out enormous prison networks. Does that count for nothing?!

[–] thesohoriots@lemmy.world 78 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] luibh@lemmy.world 29 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Living in Indiana, there are some parts that aren't too bad, but overall it does suck.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 36 points 3 weeks ago

best thing to come out of indiana is I-94

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Former Hoosier here (Indy). I miss the people we left behind in Indiana, but I do not by any means miss the government. Braun is a wannabe Trump whose only saving grace is that he's really bad at it.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

"Crime" is your state's sole strength, apparently.

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[–] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

LMAO the vast majority of the population there can't afford food or housing or healthcare because they're the first places to fall into the grip of a christofascist coup that's trying to take over the entire US government and making a pretty good go of it so far. What a bunch of rubes.

[–] Rivermoonwolf@lemmy.world 50 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Why are they so mad? Who read it to them?

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

That is why they are so mad, they don't have anyone smart enough left to read it to them.

[–] skeezix@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nobody wants to admit their regressive policies create shithole states

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[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 37 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Someone plot every states score on a graph, color it red/blue, and then sort by highest to lowest so we can watch red states fall off a cliff.

We're already off the cliff. And we're going to take everyone with us if we keep sliding.

[–] RustyShackleford@piefed.social 36 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)
[–] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

On one hand I dont like these list, because even if everyone was doing their best, someone will always be at the bottom.

On the other hand, I mean, what did you expect. These list have always been a thing, and these places are always at the bottom by a far margin, why bitch now?

[–] thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They have to disclaim it as leftist propaganda because to do otherwise would leave room for the upper class to possibly start feeling some empathy for the poor. These states are all places where christian fascism has its strongest grip, and part of maintaining that grip is constantly insisting that all problems that exist in the glorious uberstate are either A) the fault of non-whites / non-christians / gays / communists etc., or B) not really problems, just the fevered imaginings of the Liberal Media that Hates America. Am I gonna listen to what NBC, a company from New York City, has to say about my state? C'mon now.

A huge number of upper class Tennesseans will take any fig leaf offered that lets them believe that everything is mostly fine in TN, just a few ragtag "urban types" making things difficult for the rest of us. It makes it a lot easier to convince yourself that your lifestyle has no negative consequences, it's just lazy poors who don't work as hard at their dad's gravel company as you do.

It's a shitty and self-sustaining situation, which is why articles like these rarely have much impact. We've all already decided who we're gonna blame when stuff like this gets aired, and we just go through the same motions when it does.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

People forgot those Pace Picante commercials when all the cowboys yell in angry unison when the new cowboy reveals his salsa was made in...

"NEW YORK CITY!?!?!?"

For the longest time I just thought "New York City" was what everyone called it to differentiate it from the state. I didn't know it wasn't used by people from NYC until I was a teenager / young adult. Similarly, I didn't know that it was kind of a disparagement. Once I started paying attention to it I noticed that if the city is being referred to in a positive or neutral context, it's usually "New York" or NYC (pronounced en-why-see), but if it's a negative context then it's much more likely to be called "New York City". Like calling a wayward child by their full name.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 33 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

"If Tennessee was really the worst state to live in, people wouldn’t be moving there in large numbers, which they are," Desantis wrote. 

MAGAs are so stupid, they ALWAYS miss the point. Tennessee, like Florida, is one of the most beautiful places in America. The problem is that it is filled with MAGAs. Having more of them move there is not making those beautiful places better. The reason they are bad states, and getting worse, is precisely because so many MAGAs are moving there.

And it's making the places they are leaving even better.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Yes, but the point he's making is that what's best is subjective. If you're looking for bad infrastructure, a lot of poverty, terrible education, no health care and few jobs then Tennessee may be exactly what you want.

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[–] thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 21 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

As a non-American I’m not fully versed on the qualities of all the states - but I am still surprised that Mississippi is somehow not listed here; how can it possibly be outperforming some of these other states?!

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 24 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

They did an amazing job turning education around after covid.

[–] thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 weeks ago

Oh, damn - they have too!

Go, you good thing! 📣

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Unexpected good news. Well done.

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[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

on the other side, nebraska and north dakota are in the top 10 best states to live in...

nebraska: Strengths: Health, Air Quality Weaknesses: Reproductive Rights, Inclusiveness

north dakota: Strengths: Childcare, Health, Air Quality, Crime Weaknesses: Worker Protections, Reproductive Rights

i don't think they're taking enough off for those 'weaknesses'.

massachusetts, virginia, new hampshire, hawaii, connecticut, minnesota, new jersey, and maine are the other states in that list. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/11/best-states-to-live-in-america-2026.html

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[–] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Chron:

CNBC gave each state a "Quality of Life" rating based on several key factors, including issues that have become political flashpoints, such as reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections and healthcare.

CNBC:

CNBC is placing increasing emphasis on Quality of Life, one of the 10 categories of competitiveness in our annual America’s Top States for Business study. It is our annual ranking of every state’s business climate, now in its 20th year. Under this year’s methodology, the category makes up 11.6% of a state’s overall score, up from about ten percent last year.

11.6%. Thanks Chron, for underplaying the fact that this wasn't even a study about the poor QOL in these states, they just happen to have poor QOL. Not to mention in the QOL section there were some pretty important topics, like, you know, ability to put food on the table and violent crime.

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Odd that Mississippi isn't on that last despite being a cesspool. I used to live in GA and even people from Alabama knew the only reason they weren't the worst state in the US was because Mississippi exists

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[–] Fishnoodle@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Damn, that's the most accurate MSM list I've seen in a long fucking time.

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 weeks ago

And from cnbc of all places, possibly the most pro-capital of them all. I’m honestly flummoxed by this.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

What is so wild is that there are movements like the one in Illinois to secede from Chicago, basically because, well, reasons.

And turn it into a new shithole state? What do these jagoffs think the real outcome is going to be once a city like Chicago is not there to subsidize them?

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[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

expect those loudmouth fascists to bitch and moan about every truth thrown at them. its just how the are

[–] randompasta@lemmy.today 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

How the fuck is Mississippi not on that list?? Or is it S tier of bd states that they're so far beyond the list that the writers didn't bother.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

How the fuck is Mississippi not on that list?

They've always been a shithole state, but they've really stagnated in their shitholery lately, while states like Texas and Florida have been innovating new ways of being shit and really disrupting the shithole state space. If you really want to make it into the top shithole state list, you can't just lean back and relax on your Jim Crow legacy -- build some data centers right next to poor neighborhoods and use their local property taxes to pay for it, give rich corporations a negative tax rate, force school children to recite the 14 words at the beginning and end of each school day. Those are the kinds of innovative shitholery that could get Mississippi back into the runnings for #1 worst state.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Truth hurts. They feel the pain.

Because it is still cheaper do deny facts than fixing actual problems.

[–] Breezy@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So if its 10 to 1 Tennessee is the worst? I might be biased being from Nashville but its not worse then Alabama right, right?

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[–] moustachio@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

It’s interesting CNBC posts this.

Americans starting to develop class consciousness and starting to hate capitalism? Quick! Get them squabbling about red vs blue again!

[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 weeks ago

The list was made to positively rank things that people in red states don't want.

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