Researches Rank Most Livable States for 2006 New Hampshire is Nation's Most Livable State Louisiana nudges out Mississippi for last place For the third consecutive year, New Hampshire was named the nation’s Most Livable State by Morgan Quitno Press, which determined its 16th annual award from its just released reference book "State Rankings 2006." At the other end of the spectrum, statistics placed Louisiana at the bottom of the scale, knocking out Mississippi for No. 50 for the first time in eight years. Mississippi was ranked in 49th place, Louisiana's ranking last year. Morgan Quitno noted that the information these rankings are based on was gathered before Louisiana and Mississippi were ravaged by hurricane Katrina. “New Hampshire enjoys the view from the top and apparently plans on staying there,” said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. “Citizens of New Hampshire enjoy low unemployment, low crime rates, high levels of household income and high levels of education. The state has a stellar record in many of the categories we considered for our award.” Recognizing a state for its high quality of life, Morgan Quitno Press issues its Livable State Award based on 44 factors selected from updated editions of its annual reference book, "State Rankings." The 2006 edition of "State Rankings" compares states in more than 550 categories. Loan Type - Please Select - Single Family Home, Attached Single Family Home, Detached Multi-Family Townhouse Condominium Cooperative (Co-Op) Not Sure Loan Term Points -Please Select-1 Year3 Year5 Year7 Year10 Year15 Year20 Year25 Year30 Year40 YearOtherNot Sure 01234MoreNot Sure State - Please Select - AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict Of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasU.S. Virgin IslandsUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming Rounding out the top five spots with New Hampshire are (in descending order) Minnesota, Iowa, Vermont and New Jersey. Bringing up the opposite end of the rankings scale with Louisiana and Mississippi in 49th, Arkansas in 48th, Kentucky in 47th and South Carolina in 46th place. Morgan Quitno considers its award unique because it takes into account a broad range of economic, educational, health-oriented, public safety and environmental statistics. To determine a state's "livability rating," Morgan Quitno averaged each state's rankings for 44 categories. Those categories included both positive and negative factors, such as unemployment rates, job growth, sunny days, teenage birthrates, homeownership, books in public libraries per capita, and highway fatality rates, among other criteria. Data used are for the most recent year in which comparable numbers are available from most states. All factors were given equal weight. States with no data available for a given category were ranked based only on the remaining factors. Most Livable States in Descending Order1 New Hampshire 26 Rhode Island 2 Minnesota 27 Missouri 3 Iowa 28 Illinois 4 Vermont 29 Arizona 5 New Jersey 30 Pennsylvania 6 Wyoming 31 Florida 7 Massachusetts 32 New York 8 Virginia 33 Oregon 9 Nebraska 34 California 10 Connecticut 35 Michigan 11 Utah 36 Indiana 12 North Dakota 37 Ohio 13 South Dakota 38 Georgia 14 Wisconsin 39 Alabama 15 Kansas 40 North Carolina 16 Maryland 41 New Mexico (tie) 17 Maine 41 Texas (tie) 18 Idaho (tie) 43 Oklahoma 18 Delaware (tie) 44 West Virginia 20 Colorado 45 Tennessee 21 Montana 46 South Carolina 22 Hawaii 47 Kentucky 23 Alaska 48 Arkansas 24 Nevada 49 Mississippi 25 Washington