Massachusetts is a state of milestones. It’s home to the country’s first public school system, college, subway system and public park. If that weren’t enough, the games of basketball and volleyball were invented there, as was the computer. This rich history of innovation is one of the draws for newcomers, along with the overall quality of life.
Massachusetts stands at No. 6 on LawnStarter’s 2015 Quality of Life Index for the 50 states.
The index is based on six quality-of-life factors analyzed by LawnStarter and borrowed from The Economist -- GDP (economic output) per capita, average life expectancy, divorce rate, unemployment rate, geographic location (latitude) and male-female income equality. The Economist considers these factors to be good barometers for quality of life.On our index, the best scores for Massachusetts are in GDP and divorce rate.
In a 2014 poll, 71 percent of Massachusetts residents rated the quality of life there as good to excellent.
“Lively urban areas, picturesque seaside communities and tiny rural towns offer a unique ambiance which each year attracts many new residents,” says William Francis Galvin, Massachusetts’ secretary of the commonwealth.
For a full copy of the report's methodology and analysis, please email LawnStarter's Chief Economic Research Analyst, Ryan Farley, at ryan.farley@lawnstarter.com.