The Best US States for Future Living

Utah may be the best place to live in the future, finds a new Gallup poll released Aug. 7, 2012. CREDIT: © Martin Novak | Dreamstime.com View full size image

If you're looking to move in the future, a new Gallup poll may have some tips for where to look. Utah, for starters, as the Beehive State ranked No. 1 in the future-living index.

To assess the future livability of 50 U.S. states, Gallup officials conducted more than 530,000 interviews with U.S. adults from Jan. 2, 2011, through June 30, 2012, and including 13 metrics.

These included: economic confidence; ease of finding clean water; healthy work environment (where supervisors treat workers like partners); availability of new learning opportunities; perceptions that your residence is "getting better"; evaluations of life five years from now; job creation, standard of living momentum; self-reported obesity rates; ease of finding a safe place to exercise; visits to the dentist; full-time employment; and smoking rates. [Read full story on the best places to live]

Here are the 50 U.S. states with average rankings based on the 13 metrics:

• Utah: 7.5 (out of 50 states)
• Minnesota: 10.5
• Colorado: 12.8
• Nebraska: 13.7
• North Dakota: 14.5
• Virginia: 16.8
• Iowa: 17.5
• Hawaii: 17.5
• South Dakota: 18.1
• Maryland: 18.5
• Massachusetts: 19.1
• Washington: 19.2
• Kansas: 19.9
• Alaska: 20.3
• Idaho: 20.8
• Wisconsin: 20.9
• Texas: 21.2
• California: 21.3
• Wyoming: 22.5
• Georgia: 22.7
• New Hampshire: 23.3
• Connecticut: 24.1
• Arizona: 24.3
• Montana: 26.3
• New Jersey: 27.2
• Oregon: 27.2
• North Carolina: 27.3
• Illinois: 27.8
• Vermont: 28.2
• South Carolina: 28.4
• Indiana: 28.8
• New Mexico: 28.8
• Oklahoma: 29.2
• New York: 29.4
• Michigan: 30.2
• Tennessee: 31.0
• Missouri: 31.2
• Pennsylvania: 31.2
• Rhode Island: 31.6
• Maine: 31.8
• Delaware: 32.5
• Ohio: 32.7
• Louisiana: 33.3
• Alabama: 33.5
• Arkansas: 33.9
• Florida: 33.9
• Nevada: 34.5
• Kentucky: 36.7
• Mississippi: 37.8
• West Virginia: 43.3

The Gallup officials note that the jury is still out on whether these states will actually be the best places for living in the future.