The 2008 Most Livable State Award Goes to . . .
New Hampshire–for the 5th straight year.
Unfortunately, Maine comes in at a much lower ranking–number 20. More disturbingly, Maine is down 4 spots from the previous year. Relative to New Hampshire, Maine’s score (27.32) is 18.7 percent lower than New Hampshire’s (33.61). Other New England states ranking above Maine include: Vermont (#8, 30.91), Connecticut (#11, 29.91) and Massachusetts (#13, 29.84). Only Rhode Island fared worse than Maine coming in at #25 (24.89).
This award is published by CQ Press, formerly by Morgan-Quitno Press, for the past 18 years. In their words, “The 2008 award is based on 44 factors ranging from median household income to crime rate, sunny days to infant mortality rate. The factors used for this year’s award are the same as those used last year.”
I am unable at this time to diagnose why Maine fell in the rankings because the final reports are only available for a fee. Stay tuned for more . . .