10 Best States to Live in Overall in 2027

Weighing the full-package winners against the value picks

The 2027 shortlist splits cleanly into two camps, and knowing which camp you belong to matters more than the raw ranking. The first camp is "buy the best of everything and pay for it." Massachusetts sits at the top here: it consistently ranks number one nationally for K-12 education and higher education (Harvard and MIT anchor a dense university economy), and it leads or near-leads for healthcare access and outcomes. The median household income tops $96,000, which is what makes the ~$600,000 median home price survivable for a two-earner professional household. New Hampshire and Minnesota round out this camp — high livability, strong schools, real trade-offs on cost or climate.

The second camp is "keep more of what you earn." Tennessee is the flagship: no state income tax on wages, a cost of living roughly 10% below the national average, and a ~$340,000 median home price, while still offering genuine job growth across Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Florida and Washington also live here — no income tax, but each carries a specific asterisk (hurricane insurance in Florida, a capital-gains tax and Seattle-level housing in Washington).

Most people are not purely in one camp. A remote worker earning a coastal salary while living in Tennessee is effectively arbitraging the two: Massachusetts-adjacent income, Tennessee cost structure. That arbitrage is the single most powerful lever on this list, and it only exists because states fund themselves so differently — some lean on income tax revenue, others on sales and property tax revenue. Understanding which lever a state pulls tells you who actually wins by moving there.

How to decide which camp fits you

Start with a forcing question: does your income tax bill or your housing bill dominate your budget? For a high earner, the income-tax line is enormous, and no-income-tax states (Tennessee, Florida, Washington, plus Texas) deliver an immediate raise. For a median earner with kids, school quality and healthcare access swamp the tax difference, which pushes you toward Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Minnesota.

Then layer four filters in order of how hard they are to change: climate you can tolerate year-round, disaster and insurance exposure, healthcare access near where you'll actually live, and finally schools if you have or plan to have children. Climate is first because it's the one thing money can't fix — Florida heat, Minnesota winters, and Colorado's 5,000-foot-plus altitude each rule out a share of buyers regardless of the spreadsheet.

The diagram is deliberately blunt: two or three questions route you to a two- or three-state finalist set. Once you have that finalist set, stop comparing all ten and only compare the finalists on the numbers that follow. Comparing every state on every metric is how people freeze; comparing three states on the two metrics that matter to them is how people decide.

The concrete numbers behind each state

Massachusetts: ~$600,000 median home, flat 5% income tax plus a 4% surtax on income above $1 million, ~$96,000 median household income. Its edge is education and life-sciences employment (biotech, finance, higher ed).

New Hampshire: ~$480,000 median home, no income tax on wages and no general sales tax — a rare pairing — plus low crime and Boston-commuter access. It routinely lands among the safest States.

Tennessee: ~$340,000 median home, no income tax on wages, below-average cost of living. Employers span HCA in healthcare (Nashville), Volkswagen and Nissan in automotive, and FedEx logistics (Memphis).

Utah: ~$520,000 median home, flat 4.55% income tax, one of the youngest populations and lowest unemployment rates, with the "Silicon Slopes" corridor from Salt Lake City to Provo and five national parks.

Florida: ~$400,000 median home, no income tax and no estate tax, but sharply rising property-insurance costs from hurricane risk. Economy spans tourism, aerospace on the Space Coast, and Miami finance.

Minnesota: ~$340,000 median home, progressive income tax up to 9.85%, anchored by Mayo Clinic healthcare and an unusually dense set of Fortune 500 headquarters (Target, 3M, UnitedHealth).

Colorado: ~$580,000 median home, flat 4.4% income tax, a diversified aerospace-tech-energy economy along the Front Range, and 300-plus sunny days in many areas.

Washington: ~$600,000 median home, no income tax but a capital-gains tax on high earners; a Microsoft- and Amazon-driven tech economy concentrated around Seattle, with costs falling sharply outside the metro.

North Carolina: ~$370,000 median home, flat 4.25% income tax (declining annually), with Charlotte banking, Research Triangle pharma and research, and statewide manufacturing.

Virginia: ~$390,000 median home, top income-tax rate of 5.75%, high median incomes from the DC-adjacent federal, defense, and Northern Virginia tech economy.

The pattern: no-income-tax States cluster around $340,000–$600,000 homes and recover their "lost" income tax revenue through sales, property, or capital-gains taxes, while high-tax States like Minnesota often pair a steeper rate with a lower home price. The Best deal is rarely the lowest single number — it's the lowest total of tax plus housing plus insurance for your specific income and family size.

Sequencing the move so the numbers hold up

Picking a state is a decision; relocating is a project, and the order of operations decides whether the paper savings survive contact with reality. Work backward from proof, not from enthusiasm. First, model your actual after-tax, after-housing, after-insurance monthly cost in each finalist state using your real income — not the median. A no-income-tax win can evaporate against a $6,000 annual Florida insurance premium or a Colorado mortgage on a $580,000 home.

Second, verify the local market, not the state median. Coastal Massachusetts dwarfs its inland towns; Nashville costs far more than rural Tennessee; Northern Virginia runs well above the statewide $390,000. Pull three to five comparable listings in the specific town you'd target before you trust any state-level figure.

Third, confirm the income side is portable. If your job doesn't move with you, the arbitrage collapses — line up remote-work approval or a local offer before you list your current home.

The final rung — renting through one full season before buying — is the cheapest insurance on the whole list. A Minnesota winter, a Florida hurricane season, or a Colorado altitude adjustment reveals in months what no ranking can tell you in advance, and a lease is trivially cheaper to exit than a mortgage. People who Live in a state before they buy in it almost never regret the state; people who buy first sometimes do.

Related questions

What is the single best state to live in overall for 2027?

Massachusetts, on the strength of number-one-ranked schools, top-tier healthcare access, and high median incomes near $96,000. The catch is cost: a median home around $600,000 and a 5% flat income tax (plus a millionaire surtax).

Which state gives the best value?

Tennessee. No state income tax on wages, a ~$340,000 median home, and a cost of living roughly 10% below the national average, paired with real job growth in Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga.

Do no-income-tax states actually save money?

Often, for high earners — but not always. States replace that lost revenue through higher sales, property, or capital-gains taxes and, in Florida, steep insurance. Model your total cost, not just the tax line.

Are these rankings stable for a few years?

The relative strengths — Massachusetts for education and healthcare, Tennessee for value, Utah for growth — tend to hold across years even as exact home prices and tax rates drift slightly. Re-check the numbers before you commit.

FAQ

What is the best state to live in overall in 2027? Massachusetts ranks first overall for its top-tier schools, the nation's best healthcare access, and high median incomes above $96,000. The trade-off is a high cost of living, including a median home price near $600,000 and a 5% flat income tax with a surtax on income over $1 million.

Which state offers the best value for the money? Tennessee. It combines no state income tax, a median home price around $340,000, and a cost of living roughly 10% below the national average, all while adding jobs across healthcare, automotive, and logistics. It suits remote workers and families seeking low taxes with a moderate climate.

How are these states ranked? On the full package — education, healthcare access, economic strength, safety, and affordability — rather than any single metric. That's why a pricey state like Massachusetts and an affordable one like Tennessee can both rank near the top for different reasons.

Are home prices affordable everywhere within these states? No. Prices vary widely inside each state: coastal Massachusetts far exceeds its inland towns, and Tennessee's cities cost more than its rural regions. Always price three to five comparable homes in the specific town you're targeting before trusting a state median.

Do all these states charge income tax? Some do, some don't. Tennessee, Florida, and Washington have no state income tax on wages; Massachusetts is a flat 5%, Minnesota rises to 9.85%, and Virginia tops out at 5.75%. States without income tax recover the revenue through sales, property, or capital-gains taxes.

Can I trust these rankings for the next few years? They're built on current data for home prices, taxes, school quality, and healthcare, and the relative strengths of these states are expected to stay stable. Exact figures will shift, so re-verify home prices and tax rates before making a move.

Sources

• https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states
• https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/
• https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
• https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
• https://www.bls.gov/lau/
• https://www.wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-live-in/62617
• https://www.kff.org/statedata/

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