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New Hampshire
1
Florida
2
Nevada
3
Tennessee
4
South Dakota
5
Indiana
6
Michigan
7
Georgia
8
Arizona
9
Idaho
10
Missouri
11
Colorado
12
Pennsylvania
14
Virginia
15
North Dakota
15
North Carolina
16
Wisconsin
17
Montana
18
Oklahoma
19
Utah
20
Texas
21
Alabama
22
Arkansas
23
Alaska
24
Kentucky
25
Wyoming
26
Kansas
27
South Carolina
28
New Jersey
28
Iowa
29
Massachusetts
30
Ohio
31
Louisiana
32
Nebraska
33
Maine
34
West Virginia
35
Connecticut
36
Illinois
37
Minnesota
38
Washington
39
Mississippi
40
Rhode Island
41
New Mexico
42
Vermont
43
Delaware
44
Maryland
45
Oregon
46
California
48
Hawaii
49
New York
50

Most Free States 2024

Most Free States 2024

The United States is the “land of the free.” Different people value aspects of freedom differently and therefore may have different definitions of what freedom means. Under the United States Constitution, each state has control over many of the laws and regulations within its own borders. Because of this, laws can vary widely between states. People

Freedom in the 50 States is a report that ranks each state based on a combination of personal and economic freedoms. The report defines individual freedom as “the ability to dispose of one’s own life, liberty, and justly acquired property however one sees fit, so long as one does not coercively infringe on another individual’s ability to do the same.” These include fiscal policy, regulatory policy, and personal freedom.

Fiscal policy includes state taxation, local taxation, government consumption and investment, government debt, and cash and security assets. Regulatory policy includes: land-use freedomn, labor market freedom, lawsuit freedom, occupational freedom, miscellanrous regulatory freedom, and cable and communications. Personal freedom includes incarceration and arrests, guns, gambling, marriage, education, alcohol, asset forfeiture, marijuana, tobacco, mala prohibita and civil liberties, travel freedom, and campaign finance.

Each state was scored on over 200 policies involving fiscal policy, regulatory policy, and personal freedom. Policies were weighted according to the estimated costs that government restrictions on freedom impose on their victims. Fiscal policy was weighted at 30.4%, regulatory policy at 34.0%, and personal freedom at 34.1% (percentages do not equal 100% because of rounding).

1. Florida

Based on the rankings, Florida is the freest state in the United States. Florida is ranked first for fiscal policy, 11th for personal freedom, and 22nd for regulatory policy. Florida is one of seven states that do not levy a state income tax. Florida’s overall state-level tax collections are more than a standard deviation and a half below the national average.

2. New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the second-most free state in the country. New Hampshire ranks second for fiscal policy, with the government taxing less than any other state but Alaska. New Hampshire also ranks fifth for personal freedom, with low incarceration rates and drug arrest rates.

3. Indiana

Indiana ranks 10th for fiscal policy, 10th for personal freedom, and fifth for regulatory policy. Indiana has built itself as the freest state in the Great Lakes region by a wide margin. State taxes have fallen while government debt has also declined. Educational freedom is excellent in Indiana. Legal gambling is extensive, victimless crime arrests are low, alcohol freedom has improved consistently over the past few years.

4. Colorado

Colorado takes the number four spot for the freest states. Colorado ranks eighth for fiscal policy and fourth for personal freedom. The state has led the way in recreational cannabis regulation and has above average legal gambling and run rights. Colorado is ranked first on the report for freedom from cronyism (the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority without proper regard to their qualifications). When it comes to regulatory policy, however, Colorado does not perform as well and is ranked 25th.

5. Nevada

Nevada ranks second for personal freedom. Nevada is number one for legal gambling and is the only state with legal prostitution (in certain jurisdictions). Incarceration in Nevada is about average and non-drug victimless crime arrests have fallen in recent years. While personal freedom is Nevada’s strength it does perform as well for fiscal or regulatory policy, which it ranks 22nd and 17th for.

6. North Dakota

North Dakota is the sixth-most free state in the U.S., ranking fifth for fiscal policy, 29 for personal freedom, and 19 for regulatory policy. North Dakota’s tax burned is about 4.5% of adjusted income. State debts have been paid down and financial assets have been built up. North Dakota falls behind for regulatory policies, although its policies are still good. Land use is lightly regulated, there is a right-to-work law, and there is no state-level minimum wage.

7. Tennessee

Tennessee has the third-freest regulatory policies in the U.S. and is ranked tenth for regulatory policy; however, it ranks 45 for personal freedom. Tennessee is one of seven states with no individual state income tax and both state and local taxes and state and local debt have decreased. Tennessee ranks poorly for personal freedom due to its criminal justice policies and an above-average incarceration rate.

8. South Dakota

Ranking just two spots under its northern neighbor is South Dakota. South Dakota sixth for fiscal policy, 37 for personal freedom, and eighth for regulatory policy. South Dakota has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country and state and local debt is well below the national average. While the state’s regulatory policies are well above average, its criminal justice policies are very strict. Incarceration is high as well as drug and other victimless crimes.

9. Arizona

Arizona is the ninth-most free state in the United States. Arizona ranks 18th for fiscal policy, 14 for personal freedom, and 16 for regulatory policy. Arizona has made significant progress in the rankings in the last 20 years, specifically on personal freedom. This is due to growing gun rights, declining victimless crime arrests, legalization of same-sex marriage, the abolition of its sodomy law, and liberalizing its wine shipment laws.

10. Kansas

Kansas takes the tenth spot on the freest states in the country and ranks first for regulatory policy. Kansas is one of the best states for freedom from cronyism, land-use freedom is high, and occupational freedom is high. Kansas does significantly worse for fiscal policy and personal freedom, ranking 32 and 21, respectively. Government employment and debt in South Dakota are higher than average. Additionally, while Kansas does relatively better than other conservative states when it comes to criminal justice, its incarceration rate has been slowly increasing over time.

Most Free States 2024

Notes:
- All scores are expressed as rankings, with the best-performing state earning a rank of 1 and the worst-performing state earning the rank of 50.
- The freedom rankings are the compilation of more than 230 policy variables drawn from more than 20 categories, including political campaign finance, labor, education, healthcare, gun laws, gambling, marriage, and land use.

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State
Freedom Rank
Change in Rank Since 2016
Fiscal Policy Rank
Personal Freedom Rank
Regulatory Policy Rank
New Hampshire103221
Florida2011221
Nevada3010123
Tennessee4123916
South Dakota5-14186
Indiana6091110
Michigan7413817
Georgia826347
Arizona9018619
Idaho10-211424
Missouri11271530
Colorado12-516728
Pennsylvania14952737
North Dakota151311312
Virginia15-7153818
North Carolina163211626
Wisconsin17330219
Montana18-3141736
Oklahoma198292320
Utah20-335288
Texas213124922
Alabama220193725
Arkansas235224414
Alaska24-10341027
Kentucky256234511
Wyoming261036415
Kansas27-938311
New Jersey28-7284849
South Carolina28-2333513
Iowa29443193
Massachusetts30-982542
Ohio31-2204032
Louisiana32-7262931
Nebraska33-347202
Maine34-237339
West Virginia353401429
Connecticut36-1174340
Illinois377253038
Minnesota38-1392234
Washington39-5322441
Mississippi403453615
Rhode Island41-2273343
New Mexico42058535
Vermont43246444
Delaware44-3444733
Maryland451243247
Oregon46-642946
California480412650
Hawaii490504645
New York500495048
showing: 50 rows

Most Free States 2024

Sources