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 Preschool
(% ages 3 and 4 in school)
1 New Hampshire 40.1
2 Minnesota 39.3
3 Vermont 54.5
4 Iowa 38.8
5 Massachusetts 48.7
6 Nebraska 46.4
7 New Jersey 53.9
8 North Dakota 24.9
9 Utah 38.2
10 Connecticut 55.5
11 Hawaii 43.8
12 Maine 35.0
13 Washington 35.0
14 New York 52.1
15 District of Columbia 73.0
16 South Dakota 36.8
17 Kansas 43.3
18 Virginia 38.5
19 Wisconsin 37.2
20 Rhode Island 36.8
21 Oregon 31.9
22 Maryland 38.3
23 Illinois 45.3
24 Montana 41.3
25 California 37.0
26 Idaho 33.7
27 Pennsylvania 38.9
28 Colorado 46.5
29 Michigan 38.9
30 Delaware 43.9
31 Missouri 39.9
32 Alaska 37.2
33 Indiana 37.5
34 Ohio 39.2
35 Wyoming 42.4
36 North Carolina 38.4
37 Florida 43.7
38 Texas 37.2
39 Kentucky 36.8
40 Georgia 43.1
41 Arkansas 33.7
42 Tennessee 32.7
43 South Carolina 40.1
44 Alabama 37.7
45 Arizona 31.2
46 West Virginia 23.5
47 Oklahoma 39.0
48 Mississippi 39.9
49 Nevada 27.7
50 Louisiana 45.1
51 New Mexico 25.6

Learn more about the Data and Scoring »