--- title: Massachusetts Named “Best State” by U.S. News and World Report description: "This week, U.S. News and World Report released its brand new “Best States” list, ranking the 50 U.S. with Massachusetts leading the way at #1." image: https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/Boston_Seaport.jpg --- [ Signature Boston ](https://signatureboston.com/) Close Navigation ![Signature Boston Blog](https://signatureboston.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/made/images/remote/http_s3.amazonaws.com/signatureboston/banners/default/blog_1400_500_c1_c_c.jpg) ![Signature Boston Blog](https://signatureboston.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/made/images/remote/http_s3.amazonaws.com/signatureboston/banners/default/blog_1400_500_c1_c_c.jpg) ![Signature Boston Blog](https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/Signature%20Boston%20December2017/images/background-arc.svg) [Plan](https://signatureboston.com/plan) /[Signature Boston Blog](https://blog.signatureboston.com) ![Massachusetts Named “Best State” by U.S. News and World Report](https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/Boston_Seaport.jpg) # Massachusetts Named “Best State” by U.S. News and World Report By Bojura Angelova March 02, 2017 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) This week, U.S. News and World Report released its brand new [“Best States” list](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings), ranking the 50 U.S. states based on [68 metrics from several broad categories](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/methodology) such as health care, education, and infrastructure, with Massachusetts leading the way at #1. The project is powered by a Leading States Index developed by McKinsey & Company, which has extensive experience in consulting focused on the improvement of state governance. [![](http://s3.amazonaws.com/signatureboston/1column/Overall_Best_States_Ranking.png)](http://s3.amazonaws.com/signatureboston/1column/Overall_Best_States_Ranking.png) *Image Source: U.S. News and World Report* Massachusetts earned the top spot because of its strength in health care and education. In the health care category, Massachusetts ranked exceptionally high in many of the survey’s subcategories including wellness visits, health insurance enrollment, and overall medical care quality, among others. In the education category, the Bay State is number one for educational attainment (65% of the population has at least some college education), college readiness, and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) math scores, and ranks #2 for NAEP reading scores. And with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and a strong business environment (#2 in patent creation), Massachusetts also excelled in the economy category. “I think part of it is we have a lot of smart people, we have a lot of great schools”, said Gov. Charlie Baker in an [interview ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBkUUEGVik)for *CBS This Morning*. “That has led to a whole series of terrific, what I would call ecosystems around technology and healthcare and finance and education. You put it all together, in this day and age, in this kind of global economy and global world we live in, and it’s a terrific mix.” As Massachusetts’s largest and capital city, Boston is leading the way and is a desired destination for a growing number of meetings and conventions, especially those with a focus on education, technology, finance, and medicine. In 2017, there are nearly 20 medical shows alone scheduled to take place at the [BCEC ](https://signatureboston.com/bcec)and the [Hynes](https://signatureboston.com/hynes). Explore [Why Boston](https://signatureboston.com/boston/why-boston) (and Massachusetts!) is a great destination to bring your next event! [Back to All Posts](https://blog.signatureboston.com) ### Sign up for Blog Updates ### Browse Blog Categories - [Attending an Event (10)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/attending-an-event) - [Awards (8)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/awards) - [Boston (86)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston) - [Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (89)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston-convention-exhibition-center) - [Boston Hotels (25)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston-hotels) - [Boston Neighborhoods (14)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston-neighborhoods) - [Boston Restaurants (17)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston-restaurants) - [Boston Seaport (26)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/boston-seaport) - [Catering & Restaurants (18)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/catering-restaurants) - [Entertainment (29)](https://blog.signatureboston.com/tag/entertainment) ### Follow Us Online - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SignatureBoston) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SignatureBOS) - [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/signatureboston) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIoXbrH3WUic5SC8-Tu3UIA) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/boston-convention-marketing-center) - [Instagram](https://instagram.com/signatureboston/) [![Massachusetts Convention Center Authority](https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/Signature%20Boston%20December2017/images/logo-mcca-1x.png)](http://massconvention.com/) [![Meet Boston_Logos and Marks_White_White_Full-3](https://blog.signatureboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Meet%20Boston_Logos%20and%20Marks_White_White_Full-3.png?width=100&height=28&name=Meet%20Boston_Logos%20and%20Marks_White_White_Full-3.png)](http://www.meetboston.com/)   ©2025 Massachusetts Convention Center Authority - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SignatureBoston) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SignatureBOS) - [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/signatureboston) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIoXbrH3WUic5SC8-Tu3UIA) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/boston-convention-marketing-center) - ![Signature Boston](https://blog.signatureboston.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Signature%20Boston%20December2017/images/phone-pink-1x.png?width=7&height=11&name=phone-pink-1x.png) Contact our Sales Team by [email](mailto:sales@signatureboston.com) or [877-393-3393](tel:1-877-393-3393). ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bojura Angelova", "url" : "https://blog.signatureboston.com/author/bojura-angelova" }, "dateModified" : "2020-04-28T16:50:53.599Z", "datePublished" : "2017-03-02T14:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Massachusetts Named “Best State” by U.S. News and World Report", "image" : [ "https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/Boston_Seaport.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.signatureboston.com/massachusetts-named-best-state-by-u.s.-news-and-world-report", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.signatureboston.com/hubfs/SigBos_Logo_NoTag.png" }, "name" : "Boston Convention Marketing Center" } } ```