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 Education Index
(%)
1 New Hampshire 55.6
2 Minnesota 53.0
3 Vermont 60.4
4 Iowa 52.9
5 Massachusetts 62.3
6 Nebraska 54.5
7 New Jersey 61.7
8 North Dakota 48.5
9 Utah 56.2
10 Connecticut 63.2
11 Hawaii 56.2
12 Maine 52.0
13 Washington 50.2
14 New York 57.5
15 District of Columbia 64.5
16 South Dakota 48.2
17 Kansas 55.5
18 Virginia 58.5
19 Wisconsin 52.6
20 Rhode Island 50.5
21 Oregon 47.8
22 Maryland 56.5
23 Illinois 53.0
24 Montana 52.7
25 California 54.0
26 Idaho 44.8
27 Pennsylvania 52.7
28 Colorado 55.5
29 Michigan 48.4
30 Delaware 50.5
31 Missouri 54.5
32 Alaska 45.6
33 Indiana 51.7
34 Ohio 49.3
35 Wyoming 49.5
36 North Carolina 54.7
37 Florida 58.8
38 Texas 54.5
39 Kentucky 53.0
40 Georgia 53.8
41 Arkansas 48.5
42 Tennessee 50.9
43 South Carolina 51.8
44 Alabama 53.3
45 Arizona 43.4
46 West Virginia 46.8
47 Oklahoma 45.2
48 Mississippi 53.0
49 Nevada 43.5
50 Louisiana 49.8
51 New Mexico 40.7

Learn more about the Data and Scoring »