Minnesota ranked No. 1 state for business and for women

Minnesota was ranked the Top State for Business in 2015 in June by CNBC, scoring 1,584 out of a possible 2,500 points. The categories included workforce, cost of doing business, infrastructure, quality of life, economy, business friendliness and cost of living, among others. Minnesota ranked in the top half for all but two of the 10 categories.

The state scored top marks for education (2^nd place overall), quality of life (3^rd place), economy (5^th place) and technology & innovation (6^th place). It was still above average in access to capital (23^rd place) and business friendliness (23^rd place), but it struggled in cost of living (32^nd place) and cost of doing business (35^th place—its worst ranking overall).

According to CNBC, Minnesota rose to the top because of high marks in areas such as education and quality of life, which overshadowed how costly it can be to do business there.

Minnesota won another title earlier this year when it was named the overall No. 1 State for Women in a study by WalletHub. This study focused on women’s economic and social wellbeing, as well as women’s health care. Minnesota ranked No. 2 for women’s economics and social wellbeing and No. 4 for women’s healthcare. In addition, the state made it into the top five in several categories: Lowest High School Dropout Rate for Women, Highest Percentage of Women Who Voted in the 2012 Presidential Election, Lowest Female Uninsured Rate and Highest Women’s Life Expectancy at Birth.

Minnesota also snagged first place (tied with New Hampshire) in Politico.com’s second annual poll ranking states from best to worst. This poll includes factors such as what percent of the population is unemployed, the percent of high school graduates, the violent crime rate per 100,000 residents and life expectancy at birth. Mississippi was ranked last for the second year in a row.