Utah Kills it in New State Capital Ranking for 2025

A new ranking from finance website WalletHub has ranked all 50 state capitals based on the quality of life for their residents. 

The article from Adam McCann ranked the capital cities based on their living conditions, and Utah was given quite a high position, especially when you consider it’s competing with 49 other states. 

McCann wrote, “In order to determine which state capitals make the best homes, WalletHub compared all 50 across 48 key indicators of affordability, economic well-being, quality of life, education and health care. Our data set ranges from the cost of living to the quality of K–12 school systems to the crime rate.” 

So, where exactly did Salt Lake City rank? There’s no way it could beat the capital cities of bigger states like California and New York, right? That’s where the surprise comes in. 

Salt Lake City was ranked No. 7 among the 50 state capitals and ranked No. 4 in the economic well-being category. 

The top three state capitols based on quality for residents are as follows. 

No. 3 is Raleigh, North Carolina. 

No. 2 is Madison, Wisconsin. 

No. 1 is Dallas, Texas. 

Now why exactly is Dallas the best of the best? McCann explained how its quality of education and economic well-being placed it at the top of the pedestal. 

McCann wrote, “Austin has a great education system, ranking at the top of the country when it comes to the share of public schools rated as “above average” by Greatschools.org. In addition, it has the third-highest percentage of high schoolers who graduate within four years, along with high-quality university education. It’s also one of the most educated cities overall, with the fourth-highest percentage of residents ages 25+ with at least a bachelor’s degree.” 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the worst state capital to live in for 2025 is Augusta, Maine.  

In the end, it’s pretty impressive to see Salt Lake City rank higher than states like New York and California.