The best states to live in 2022. Did Montana make the list?

It looks like our friends at Wallethub have released the list of the best states to live in, in 2022. I’ll be honest with you, I love when one of these lists comes out – for a few reasons.

First, I always wonder how they come to their conclusions and how accurate they are. Secondly, it also makes me laugh a bit to see online haters warping and reacting to these discoveries.

Montana continues to become a popular destination for transplants, and places like Bozeman, Missoula, and the Flathead area are attracting people looking to “escape” their ordinary lives and experience Montana.

Here’s the problem with that: most Montanans would tell you that these places aren’t the Montana experience, but I digress. So where did Montana end up on the list? What factors come into play to decide where we end up on the list? According to Wallethub, here are the factors used to determine a state’s ranking:

• Affordability
• Economy
• Education and health
• Quality of life
• Security

So how did we do it? The good or bad news, depending on your perspective, is that we’ve made the Top 20 all the way down to the top states. In fact, we came in at number 19. Which was better than our neighbors in Washington, Oregon, and South Dakota. However, North Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming beat us, with the latter two making the Top 10.

Apparently, we could do a little better on affordability (27th), but we’re doing very well on economy (3rd). Oh, and we make the Top 20 for Education and Health, so that’s a bonus. Our quality of life could definitely use a little boost (27th) and it looks like we’re not the safest state (39th).

Must be all those bears and other wildlife, right?

Some people will agree with this and others will disagree. Then there’s the “go back where you came from” crowd who, no matter what we say, will respond with “go back where you came from”. I guess you can’t please everyone.

CHECK IT OUT: The best county to live in for each state

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