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 Youth Not In School and Not Working
(% ages 16-24)
1 New Hampshire 8.0
2 Minnesota 8.4
3 Vermont 10.9
4 Iowa 7.1
5 Massachusetts 8.1
6 Nebraska 8.2
7 New Jersey 11.3
8 North Dakota 7.0
9 Utah 8.9
10 Connecticut 9.3
11 Hawaii 13.4
12 Maine 12.5
13 Washington 12.0
14 New York 12.9
15 District of Columbia 15.0
16 South Dakota 9.2
17 Kansas 10.4
18 Virginia 9.4
19 Wisconsin 10.6
20 Rhode Island 8.1
21 Oregon 13.7
22 Maryland 11.5
23 Illinois 12.0
24 Montana 11.7
25 California 12.5
26 Idaho 10.1
27 Pennsylvania 11.4
28 Colorado 10.6
29 Michigan 12.1
30 Delaware 7.3
31 Missouri 10.1
32 Alaska 16.5
33 Indiana 11.6
34 Ohio 11.1
35 Wyoming 8.1
36 North Carolina 12.1
37 Florida 11.8
38 Texas 13.7
39 Kentucky 14.3
40 Georgia 13.0
41 Arkansas 14.9
42 Tennessee 13.5
43 South Carolina 12.5
44 Alabama 14.2
45 Arizona 11.7
46 West Virginia 15.2
47 Oklahoma 13.3
48 Mississippi 15.3
49 Nevada 15.8
50 Louisiana 17.7
51 New Mexico 20.5

Learn more about the Data and Scoring »