{"id":4042,"date":"2026-08-01T12:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4042"},"modified":"2026-08-01T12:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:09:17","slug":"see-how-much-better-or-worse-sc-is-than-other-states-in-2026-according-to-us-news-world-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4042","title":{"rendered":"See how much better or worse SC is than other states in 2026, according to US News &#038; World Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s the beautiful scenery or affordable living, South Carolina is becoming increasingly popular and is currently the nation\u2019s top moving destination.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4040\">New Coastal Crust pizza set to fire up Columbia\u2019s BullStreet. Take a look inside<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>However, even though SC has been in the news more recently and people are flocking to the state, not everything is perfect. The State recently reported that a study ranked SC as one of the worst places to move to, based on its rankings in safety, health care, education, and quality of life.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Now, U.S. News &amp; World Report, a leading consumer news company, has released its 2026 Best States report, highlighting each state\u2019s best and worst qualities.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>SC didn\u2019t make it close to the top, but it has improved in several areas and even jumped past a significant number of states compared to last year, showing signs that the Palmetto State is heading in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where SC ranked in this year\u2019s report and why:<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>SC\u2019s latest state ranking<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The best states in U.S. News &amp; World Report rank highly across the eight categories the news company used in this ranking. The categories include: Crime &amp; Corrections, Education, Healthcare, Natural Environment, Economy, Fiscal Stability, Infrastructure and Opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>SC ranked very poorly in some of the categories, but ranked closer to the top in others, placing <b>32nd<\/b> in the country overall. Last year, SC ranked <b>40th<\/b> in the country, showing that the state has taken steps to improve but still has much to work on.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4038\">Questions surface about roles of SC House speaker, Senate president in mega utility merger<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>These are SC\u2019s specific rankings for each category:<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Crime and Corrections: 42nd<\/li>\n<li>Education: 42nd<\/li>\n<li>Healthcare: 28th<\/li>\n<li>Natural Environment: 23rd<\/li>\n<li>Economy: 6th<\/li>\n<li>Fiscal Stability: 23rd<\/li>\n<li>Infrastructure: 29th<\/li>\n<li>Opportunity: 35th<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Top and bottom states<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>U.S. News &amp; World Report said these 10 states are the best in the country, as of this year. The states scored highly across each category and perform well for their citizens.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Utah<\/li>\n<li>South Dakota<\/li>\n<li>Minnesota<\/li>\n<li>North Dakota<\/li>\n<li>Nebraska<\/li>\n<li>New Hampshire<\/li>\n<li>Idaho<\/li>\n<li>Florida<\/li>\n<li>Washington<\/li>\n<li>Vermont<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>These are the worst states in the country, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Louisiana<\/li>\n<li>Alaska<\/li>\n<li>Mississippi<\/li>\n<li>New Mexico<\/li>\n<li>Michigan<\/li>\n<li>Arkansas<\/li>\n<li>West Virginia<\/li>\n<li>Alabama<\/li>\n<li>Ohio<\/li>\n<li>Kentucky<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Methodology<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Best States rankings assess the performance of the 50 U.S. states using 71 metrics across eight categories.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Rankings across these categories are based on a three-year data analysis from national surveys that asked tens of thousands of people to prioritize various issue areas in their state. The categories\u2019 assigned weights are based on these surveys.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Education and Health care are the most influential categories in this report. Here are the categories and their weights:<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4037\">Questions surface about roles of SC House speaker, Senate president in mega utility merger<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Education: 15.79%<\/li>\n<li>Healthcare: 15.51%<\/li>\n<li>Economy: 12.88%<\/li>\n<li>Infrastructure: 12.74%<\/li>\n<li>Opportunity: 12.2%<\/li>\n<li>Fiscal Stability: 12.19%<\/li>\n<li>Natural Environment: 9.69%<\/li>\n<li>Crime and Corrections: 9.01%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Carolina has been ranked poorly in recent studies, but the Palmetto State has seen improvement in US News &amp; World Report\u2019s 2026 report from last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-carolina"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>See how much better or worse SC is than other states in 2026, according to US News &amp; 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