Idaho is Now Statistically Better to Live in Than Washington or Utah

It seems to have calmed down a little in the last few months, but many people in Idaho have a history of being very vocal in their dislike toward California. When it comes to other states, like Utah, we usually just make fun of their driving, but we don’t hate them.

But there is a level of competition between our states. We even include Washington in some of our mockery jabs, and pretty much ignore any signs that Oregon exists.

Idaho Ranked As the Best State to Live in, Beating Utah and Washington

It doesn’t matter what state you live in though, because if it isn’t Idaho, it isn’t the best state to live in the United States. That’s based on science, not my bias as a resident of Idaho.

In a compilation of data from WalletHub, we learned that Idaho was ranked as the best state to live in for 2026. Utah came in 7th, and they were pretty excited about that ‘honor’ and wrote a story about it. Washington came in 33rd place, and if we needed more reasons to ignore Oregon, they ranked 42nd.

Idaho is Now Scientifically Better to Live in Than Washington or Utah

WalletHub based its research on affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Our lowest score came from the quality of life category. Our rank as the best was attributed to a low median real estate tax rate, high home ownership rate, and one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country. There's even a reel online with hundreds of comments where people are talking about how much better Idaho is than Washington.

But Idaho isn’t always the best: sometimes there is more wildfire smoke in the air than actual air, and there are people who do things we think should be illegal.