State Rankings

The 2023 Opportunity Index provides Opportunity Scores for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and for nearly 2,068 counties, which together represent 96 percent of the U.S. population.

Overall United States Opportunity Score: 51.9

In 2023, state scores ranged from 40.3 (New Mexico) to 60.2 (New Hampshire). Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia had scores above the national opportunity score of 51.9, while 23 states had scores below the national score. States scoring above the national value were predominantly in the Northeast, Coastal West, and Northern Midwest regions, while states scoring below the national value were predominantly in the Deep South, Southeast, Southwest, and Appalachia.

Rank State Overall Opportunity Score
%
1 New Hampshire 60.2
2 Minnesota 59.8
3 Vermont 59.8
4 Iowa 59.8
5 Massachusetts 59.7
6 Nebraska 59.2
7 New Jersey 57.8
8 North Dakota 57.4
9 Utah 57.3
10 Connecticut 57.0
11 Hawaii 56.1
12 Maine 56.0
13 Washington 55.7
14 New York 55.6
15 District of Columbia 55.4
16 South Dakota 55.4
17 Kansas 55.1
18 Virginia 55.0
19 Wisconsin 55.0
20 Rhode Island 54.4
21 Oregon 54.2
22 Maryland 54.0
23 Illinois 53.7
24 Montana 53.4
25 California 53.4
26 Idaho 52.8
27 Pennsylvania 52.5
28 Colorado 51.6
29 Michigan 51.3
30 Delaware 50.8
31 Missouri 50.8
32 Alaska 49.6
33 Indiana 49.6
34 Ohio 49.2
35 Wyoming 49.0
36 North Carolina 48.4
37 Florida 48.4
38 Texas 47.7
39 Kentucky 47.2
40 Georgia 46.5
41 Arkansas 46.5
42 Tennessee 46.2
43 South Carolina 46.0
44 Alabama 46.0
45 Arizona 45.6
46 West Virginia 45.3
47 Oklahoma 44.5
48 Mississippi 43.0
49 Nevada 42.4
50 Louisiana 40.6
51 New Mexico 40.3

Learn more about the Data and Scoring »