Washington ranked best state overall in the country for 2019, according to U.S. News survey

LOS ANGELES - Washington topped the list as the best state in the country overall for 2019, while Louisiana ended up last with poor health care, education and obesity rates, according to U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News & World Report issues a rankings list each year by drawing data from various government entities and public information then taking into account what people find most important about the states they lived in.

Seventy-one metrics across eight categories were used to add weight to certain measurements for the state rankings. The most weight was placed on health care, education, the state’s economy, infrastructure, opportunities states offer citizens, fiscal stability, crime and corrections and natural environment.

In the overall ranking, Washington came out on top. It has a population of 7.4 million people, with 46 percent having a college education. According to the report, the state’s aerospace industry is a major part of its economic success and it has the highest GDP of any state at $524 billion. This year's list was an upward movement for the state. In 2018, Washington ranked sixth.

Here is a list of the top 10 states, according to the rankings list:

1. Washington

2. New Hampshire

3. Minnesota

4. Utah

5. Vermont

6. Maryland

7. Virginia

8. Massachusetts

9. Nebraska

10. Colorado

Louisiana ended up at the bottom of the list, with poor access to health care, an obesity rate of 36.2 percent and the highest number of people with preventable hospitalizations. Only 30 percent of its population has a college education. The state was ranked last in 2018 as well.

When it came to states’ rankings for each of the eight main categories, Hawaii topped the list for health care; Massachusetts nabbed education; Colorado’s economy was the best; Oregon had the best infrastructure; New Hampshire offered the most opportunities for its residents and the lowest crime rate; Tennessee was the most fiscally stable; and Rhode Island had the best natural environment.