State rankings

Least Free States

New Hampshire ranks 1st on Freedom Rank in 2023, followed by Florida (2nd) and Nevada (3rd); rank 1 is the best. New York ranks last (50th).

Politics & Government50 states · 5 metricsUpdated May 27, 2023Original page
50 of 51 states
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Freedom Rank, 2023

Green is better, red is worse (rank 1 is the best). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 50 ranked

Best first; rank 1 is the best and has the longest bar.

Over time · 2016–2023

The top 5 in 2023; rank 1 at the top.

  • New Hampshire
  • Florida
  • Nevada
  • Tennessee
  • South Dakota

Biggest changes · 2021 → 2023

50 states have a value in both years; rank 1 is the best.

Climbed

Fell

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

50 states · # = rank by Freedom Rank
#
1New Hampshire1st—3rd2nd21st
2Florida2nd—1st12th21st
3Nevada3rd—10th1st23rd
4Tennessee4th+12nd39th16th
5South Dakota5th-14th18th6th
6Indiana6th—9th11th10th
7Michigan7th+413th8th17th
8Georgia8th+26th34th7th
9Arizona9th—18th6th19th
10Idaho10th-211th42nd4th
11Missouri11th+27th15th30th
12Colorado12th-516th7th28th
13Pennsylvania14th+95th27th37th
14Virginia15th-715th38th18th
14North Dakota15th+131st13th12th
16North Carolina16th+321st16th26th
17Wisconsin17th+330th21st9th
18Montana18th-314th17th36th
19Oklahoma19th+829th23rd20th
20Utah20th-335th28th8th
21Texas21st+312th49th22nd
22Alabama22nd—19th37th25th
23Arkansas23rd+522nd44th14th
24Alaska24th-1034th10th27th
25Kentucky25th+623rd45th11th
26Wyoming26th+1036th41st5th
27Kansas27th-938th31st1st
28New Jersey28th-728th48th49th
28South Carolina28th-233rd35th13th
30Iowa29th+443rd19th3rd
31Massachusetts30th-98th25th42nd
32Ohio31st-220th40th32nd
33Louisiana32nd-726th29th31st
34Nebraska33rd-347th20th2nd
35Maine34th-237th3rd39th
36West Virginia35th+340th14th29th
37Connecticut36th-1017th43rd40th
38Illinois37th+725th30th38th
39Minnesota38th-139th22nd34th
40Washington39th-532nd24th41st
41Mississippi40th+345th36th15th
42Rhode Island41st-227th33rd43rd
43New Mexico42nd—58th5th35th
44Vermont43rd+246th4th44th
45Delaware44th-344th47th33rd
46Maryland45th+124th32nd47th
47Oregon46th-642nd9th46th
48California48th—41st26th50th
49Hawaii49th—50th46th45th
50New York50th—49th50th48th

What correlates with Freedom Rank (2023)?

Pearson r against 2,109 other state metrics sharing at least 30 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that rank better on Freedom Rank tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Overall Freedom RankMost Libertarian StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.94 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. State Freedom ScoreState Powers
    r = −0.89 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Overall Freedom ScoreMost Libertarian States
    r = −0.86 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  4. Fiscal Freedom RankMost Libertarian StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  5. Local Taxes RankBest States to RetireA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.71 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Overall RankBest State To Incorporate InA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.67 · strong · n = 50
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that rank better on Freedom Rank tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Max RateTax Rates by State
    r = +0.66 · strong · n = 43
    Plot
  2. Local Effective Tax RateHighest Taxed States
    r = +0.64 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Highest BracketIncome Tax by State
    r = +0.63 · strong · n = 42
    Plot
  4. Highest Income Tax BracketNo Income Tax States
    r = +0.63 · strong · n = 42
    Plot
  5. Income Tax Maximum RateTaxes by State
    r = +0.63 · strong · n = 42
    Plot
  6. Capital Gains RateCapital Gains Tax by State
    r = +0.62 · strong · n = 42
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state ranks first on Freedom Rank?
New Hampshire ranks first on Freedom Rank in 2023, at 1st, followed by Florida (2nd) and Nevada (3rd). Rank 1 is the best state.
Which state ranks last on Freedom Rank?
New York ranks last of the 50 US states with data in 2023, at 50th.
Where does this least free states data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review.