Study: Texas ranks has having the nation’s second-worst quality of life

Thanks to its restrictive abortion ban, sky-high percentage of uninsured people, continued attacks against voting rights and rising hospitality to LGBTQ+ people, Texas ranks as the U.S. state with the second-worst quality of life, CNBC reported this week.

For the past two years, the team responsible for creating CNBC’s Top States for Business list has also analyzed each state’s quality of life by measuring factors such as crime, healthcare and the price and availability of daycare. Researchers also examined social issues, including reproductive rights and the inclusiveness of state laws, since young, educated workers consider those factors when relocating.

Although CNBC ranked Texas as having the second-best business climate, researchers also warned that the state’s piss-poor quality of life could hinder its economic growth.

Indeed, Texas landed a Quality of Life Score of 72 out of 265 points, primarily due to its abortion ban and horrifically bad healthcare system, the publication wrote. Indeed, the state has the nation’s highest rate of uninsured residents.

“Despite world-class institutions like Texas Medical Center and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, access to care for the average Texan is poor,” CNBC said.

CNBC also attributed Texas’s poor quality of life to it having the nation’s lowest number of primary care doctors per capita and the country’s second-lowest number of mental healthcare providers.

“The state has among America’s strictest abortion bans, and crime is on the high side,” CNBC researchers also noted of the Lone Star State.

For those wondering, CNBC ranked Tennessee as having the nation’s worst quality of life. Indiana, Utah and Louisiana, in respective order, ranked just over Texas.

It’s not all bad news, though. Texas’ 2025 score from last year, when it took home the title as the state with the worst quality of life. Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.