Most Livable State 2002 Factors

1. Percent Change in Number of Crimes: 1999 to 2000 (Table 27)

2. Crime Rate (Table 28)

3. State Prisoner Incarceration Rate (Table 62)

4. State Cost of Living Index (Table 90)

5. Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (Table 122)

6. Unemployment Rate (Table 171)

7. Percent of Nonfarm Employees in Government (Table 182)

8. Electricity Prices (Table 202)

9. Hazardous Waste Sites on the National Priority List per 10,000 Square Miles (Table 213)

10. State & Local Taxes as a Percent of Personal Income (Table 279)

11. Per Capita State and Local Government Debt Outstanding (Table 291)

12. Percent of Population Not Covered by Health Insurance (Table 345)

13. Births of Low Birthweight as a Percent of All Births (Table 361)

14. Teenage Birth Rate (Table 362)

15. Infant Mortality Rate (Table 368)

16. Age-Adjusted Death Rate by Suicide (Table 387)

17. Population per Square Mile (Table 432)

18. Divorce Rate (Table 489)

19. Poverty Rate (Table 500)

20. State and Local Government Spending for Welfare Programs as a Percent of All Spending (Table 507)

21. Percent of Households Receiving Food Stamps (Table 534)

22. Deficient Bridges as a Percent of Total Bridges (Table 550)

23. Highway Fatality Rate (Table 553)

24. Fatalities in Alcohol-Related Crashes as a Percent of All Highway Fatalities (Table 558)

25. Per Capita Gross State Product (Table 94)

26. Percent Change in Per Capita Gross State Product: 1995 to 1999 (Adjusted to Constant 1996 Dollars) (Table 95)

27. Per Capita Personal Income (Table 99)

28. Change in Per Capita Personal Income: 1999 to 2000 (Table 100)

29. Median Household Income (Table 102)

30. Public High School Graduation Rate (Table 127)

31. Percent of Population Graduated from High School (Table 128)

32. Expenditures for Education as a Percent of All State and Local Government Expenditures (Table 134)

33. Percent of Population with a Bachelor's Degree or More (Table 151)

34. Books in Public Libraries Per Capita (Table 154)

35. Per Capita State Art Agencies’ Legislative Appropriations (Table 155)

36. Annual Average Weekly Earnings of Production Workers on Manufacturing Payrolls (Table 162)

37. Job Growth: 2000 to 2001 (Table 175)

38. Normal Daily Mean Temperature (Table 225)

39. Percent of Days That Are Sunny (Table 226)

40. Homeownership Rate (Table 416)

41. Domestic Migration of Population: 2000 to 2001 (Table 482)

42. Marriage Rate (Table 487)

43. Percent of Eligible Population Reported Voting (Table 499)

43 Negative and Positive Factors