Economy

America's Freest State

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 23, 2023 9:14 am

For over two centuries, America has been known as among the “freest” countries in the world. This is based on the pillars of free elections, religious freedom, and freedom of speech, at the very least. A new study tries to gauge freedom from state to state. Based on its methodology, New Hampshire is the freest state in the United States.

Think tank Cato has released a report titled. “Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom”. The metrics for economic freedom, one of two primary factors in the ratings, are fiscal and regulatory policy by the state governments. This includes tax rates, government debt, and government employment. Personal freedom which is the second primary factor, is measured by gun rights, education reform, campaign finance freedom, and gambling restrictions. To sum these up, the authors wrote, “This study ranks the American states according to how their public policies affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres.”

Each state received a composite score based on numbers from economic and personal freedom yardsticks. The maximum score for “most freedom” can be as high as 1. The lowest score can be -1. These are the most unionized states in America. 

Several states are clustered at the very top of the list. “New Hampshire, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, and Arizona are the freest states in the country and now significantly outpace their peers,” the authors wrote. Obviously, the policies that drive the rating are not in geographically clustered states. New Hampshire’s score is .71. Florida’s is .75, South Dakota’s is .52. Nevada’s is .51, and Arizona’s is .44.

New York is the least free state and has been since the research was first published in 2000. It is joined at the bottom of the list by Hawaii, California, New Jersey, and Oregon. New York posted a score of -.77. Hawaii’s was -.72, California’s was -.58. New Jersey’s was -.52. Oregon’s was -.40.

What gives New Hampshire its rating? The report says that most of it concerns the policy of the state’s legislature. Elections in 2021 and 2022 helped cement the state’s place at the top of the list.