The Best States To Live In 2022. Did Montana Make The List?

It seems that our friends over at Wallethub have come out with the list of the best states to live in, in 2022. I’m going to be straight-up with you, I love it when one of these lists comes out—for a couple of reasons.

First, I always wonder how they come up with their findings and just how accurate they are. Second, it also makes me chuckle a bit to see the online haters get all bent out of shape and react to those findings.

Montana continues to become a popular destination for transplants, and places like Bozeman, Missoula, and the Flathead region are magnets for folks looking to “escape” their ordinary lives and come have the Montana experience.

Here’s the problem with that: most Montanans would tell you those places aren’t the Montana experience, but I digress. So, where did Montana end up on the list? What factors go into deciding where we end up on the list? According to Wallethub, here are the factors used to determine a state’s ranking:

Affordability
Economy
Education and Health
Quality of Life
Safety

So, how did we do? The good or bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that we made the Top 20 as far as the Best States. In fact, we came in at number 19. Which was better than our neighbors Washington, Oregon, and South Dakota. However, North Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming beat us, with the latter two making the Top 10.

Apparently, we could do a little bit better when it comes to affordability (27th), but we’re doing just fine when it comes to the economy (3rd). Oh, and we make the Top 20 for education and health, so that’s a bonus. Our quality of life could certainly use a little help (27th) and it would seem that we aren’t the safest state (39th).

Must be all those bears and other wildlife, right?

Some folks will agree with this and others will disagree. Then there is the “go back where you came from” crowd that no matter what we say, will respond with “go back where you came from.” I suppose you just can’t please everyone.