U.S. News ranks Iowa No. 1 for ‘opportunity’

Iowa was listed No. 1 for opportunity among states in U.S. News and World Report's rankings for 2021.

'Iowa ranks No. 1 in the opportunity category largely on the strength of its performance in two of the opportunity subcategories - affordability (at No. 4) and economic opportunity (at No. 12),” Sara Clark, U.S. News managing editor, explained in an email to The Gazette.

'The state's housing affordability is No. 1 in the country, and the state has the third-lowest level of food insecurity, according to our rankings data.”

Eight of the top 10 states in the opportunity category are in the Midwest, the others being Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Nebraska, according to a news release Tuesday.

In all categories, Iowa came in 12th overall. In the other categories it placed:

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Health care: 20th

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Education: 18th

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Economy: 27th

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Infrastructure: 19th

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Fiscal stability: 23rd

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Crimes and corrections: 14th

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Natural environment: 20th.

'The COVID-19 pandemic and evolving social climate of the past year have made a host of critical issues top of mind for Americans - from access to adequate health care and quality education to economic stability and public safety,” Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in the release.

'The 2021 Best States report combines data-driven journalism and rankings to help citizens, business leaders and policymakers see where states stack up on key bench marks - so that states can learn from each other and target areas for improvement.”

The rankings were based on more than 70 metrics, the release said.

U.S. News did not put out a report in 2020 because of the pandemic, a spokeswoman said.