Only 47% of Tennesseans think Tennessee is the best or one of the best places to live.

Most Tennesseans do not think as highly of our state as I do.  A recent Gallup poll found that 47% of Tennesseans think Tennessee is the best or one of the best places to live. Ten percent think it absolutely the best place to live and 3% think it is the worst place to live.

I am surprised Tennesseans did not rank our state higher. I think the natural beauty of our state is unsurpassed. I think for the most part we have honest government and we have low taxes.  I love living in Nashville and would not choose to live anywhere else. There are 21 other states that rank higher than Tennessee, where the citizens of their state say their state is the best or one of the best places to live. Tennesseans rank their state higher than do the citizens of the neighboring states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. 

Tied for number one as the state with the most people who think their state is a great place to live is Alaska and Montana. Seventy-seven percent of the residents of those states say their state is the best or one of the best places to live. I have never been to Alaska and I am sure it is beautiful but I have never wanted to live anywhere where the winters are long and cold.

On the other end of the spectrum is Rhode Island with only 18% of the residents thinking highly of their state, followed by Illinois, Mississippi, and Louisianan. I am surprised that Louisianan ranks so low. Louisianan has always been plagued by corruption but with the unique food and music and heritage of the state, I would have thought that would have created a lot of pride. My daughter lives in New Orleans and I visited for almost a month last fall. She loves it there and I certainly enjoyed my vacation there. If I had to live somewhere else, I think I would like New Orleans.

I would have thought Florida would rank high simply because it has so much coast line and being able to go to the beach whenever one wanted would make people think they live in a great place. Florida ranks lower in the opinion of their residents than does Tennessee, however.  I think a lot of people would like to live near the ocean, but states on the ocean did not rank high on the list.

Other rankings that I found interesting is California ranked as best or one of the best by 51% but worst place to live by 6%. New York ranked as best or one of the best by 41%, but worst by 12%.

I think it would be interesting to correlate this ranking with other rankings, such as average income, poverty rates, crime rates, climate,  and if the state is identified as a red state or a blue state to see if there are any common factors that make people think they live in a great place.  To see the complete ranking and learn more about this survey, follow this link.

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