This isn't too surprising to someone who has a passing familiarity with the state: thriving college towns, friendly business climate, low cost of living, plenti

This isn't too surprising to someone who has a passing familiarity with the state: thriving college towns, friendly business climate, low cost of living, plentiful land, a strong focus on education and healthcare, smart infrastructure spending, and strong tradition of citizen involvement in government. It ranks highly on many metrics, and, perhaps more importantly, avoids low rankings on others. This year, the rest of the top five are Minnesota, Utah, North Dakota, and New Hampshire, all well-deserved; Iowa climbs to the top, while Minnesota and New Hampshire have been consistent top performers for many years. It's enlightening to compare a list of states by inequality to this list [1]. It reveals that many high-demand locales are in fact quite unequal, while many of the states ranked highly in the article are more equal in terms of income disparity between the lowest and highest earners. On income equality alone, a state like Iowa will be less attractive to someone tolerant of risk and confident in their ability to execute than some other states with wider gaps, but it will remain a good choice for someone seeking stability and a high quality of life. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/227249/greatest-gap-between-rich-and-poor-by-us-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/227249/greatest-gap-betw...