Unpopular opinion: North Carolina isn’t always No. 1.

Last month, U.S. and World Report released their "Best States" rankings. Iowa, Minnesota, and Utah came in ranked 1st – 3rd, respectively. New Mexico, Mississippi, and Louisiana came in 48th – 50th.

So, where did North Carolina fall? 23 out of 50. That's puts at the bottom of the upper half, right under Virginia, Wyoming, and Maine. And, right above Connecticut, New York, and Tennessee.

Asheville gets so many accolades for being a great place to visit + live, but we’re only as good as the state we’re in. And that state just got mid-level reviews across the board.

N.C. is #16 in education, and in the bottom half of rankings in healthcare, opportunity, and quality of life. But, in the spirit of optimism, we ranked #6 in Fiscal Stability (and no. 1 in Government Credit Score).

The rankings are based on 77 metrics + 8 categories. Here's the full rundown (ranking out of 50, data from McKinsey & Company’s Leading States Index):

40. Opportunity

37. Healthcare

34. Quality of life

24. Infrastructure

21. Crimes & Corrections

18. Economy

16. Education

6. Fiscal Responsibility

Quick facts about N.C.:

40% college educated
$26,500 median income
10.15 million population
$521,621 million GDP

N.C. takeaways:

Opportunity - Economic, equality, affordability

N.C.'s population with food insecurity is 16.5%
N.C.'s poverty rate is 15.4%.
~$50K is N.C.'s median household income.

Healthcare - Access, quality, public health

Adults going without care due to cost is 15%, higher than the U.S. average.
We're in the 33.2 – 45.2% (top) range for uninsured adults.

Quality of Life - Natural + social environment

N.C. has an average of 11 pounds of toxic pollution per square mile range.
Our voter participation rate is at 52.2%, which is higher than most of the Southeast.

Infrastructure - Energy, internet access, transportation

10% of N.C. bridge's deemed deficient, in comparison to over 15% in West Virginia.
The average commute time in N.C. is 25 minutes.
13% of N.C. roads are in poor condition.

Crimes & Corrections - Corrections, public safety

N.C.'s incarceration rate per 100K is ~350.
N.C.'s minority incarceration rate per 100K is ~500.

Economy - Growth, employment, business environment

N.C. unemployment rate is just over 4%.
$1.25 is the amount invested per $1,000 GDP raised in N.C.
N.C. labor force participation rate is 62%.

Education - Higher education, Pre-K - 12

~60% 4-year college graduation rate (students at public colleges finished in 6 years or less).
58% of college students in N.C. have debt at graduation.
22% of children under 5 are in preschool.
49.6% of students are college ready (based on ACT + SAT benchmarks)

Fiscal Responsibility - Long-term, short-term

Ranked #1 in Government Credit Rating Score