CNBC says red states are the worst, even though everyone is moving to them
Jack Elbaum
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Last Friday, CNBC released a ranking of “America’s 10 worst states to live and work in for 2023.” It is just as out of touch as one may expect.
The list is filled exclusively with red states, including Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, and, at the very bottom, Texas.
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This is quite odd, as data show those states are actually where more people are moving than anywhere else. In 2022, 318,000 more people moved into Florida than moved out, which is a greater number than any other state. Second in terms of net in-migration was Texas, where more than 230,000 people moved in than out. Fourth was South Carolina, and fifth was Tennessee. Alabama was ninth, and Arkansas was 12th.
In other words, six of the top 12 states in terms of net domestic migration were listed in the top 10 worst states by CNBC. Moreover, not a single one of the states listed had more people move out than move in. Each one had net positive domestic migration last year.
The question is obvious: Why would so many people be scrambling to move to such terrible places? The answer is equally clear: Those states are not actually terrible. People don’t usually act so flagrantly against their self-interest, which is an indication that CNBC’s list is incredibly flawed — almost certainly for political reasons.
Looking at the criteria itself makes this clear. CNBC does not even take economic conditions into account on its list, for example. As such, no variation on the word “economy” is used in the piece as a way of actually assessing the states, even though economic considerations are often quite important when people decide where to live.
Instead, CNBC uses indicators such as “voting rights,” “reproductive rights,” and “inclusiveness” as the metrics by which it determines which states are desirable. These, of course, are all euphemisms designed to describe how liberal or conservative a state is — particularly on cultural matters. The more liberal the state is, the better ranking CNBC will award it. The more conservative it is, the worse ranking it will receive.
This is by no means the best way to rank state quality because while some people may take these measures into account when considering which states are best to live in, most people will still prioritize economic opportunity and community strength. Additionally, as mentioned, it is just a political litmus test — not an objective ranking. That those at CNBC believe it is an objective ranking, though, is a good indication of just how much of a bubble too many journalists live in.
Consequently, as things continue to deteriorate in blue states such as Illinois, California, and New York, we can expect the trend of the red state population boom to remain virtually unchanged. The reason is straightforward: Most people make decisions based on what is actually good for them, not what out-of-touch liberal newsrooms think.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.