re: Alabama falls to #49 in ranking of all 50 States. Drops 3 spots from #46 in 2018.

The problem with rankings like these... is that they don't reflect the reality of the makeup of the state. but that's the problem everywhere, right?

Alabama basically has three main sections, the Gulf Coast, North Alabama, and everything in the middle. the Gulf Coast is a wonderful place to be. North Alabama is awesome. The middle part of the state... not so much. In fact, you could probably take out the numbers for 8-10 counties and the overall state rankings would go up five slots. No kidding.

I live in North Alabama, where the job market is incredible right now. Homes are booming. Education is generally very solid, both K-12 and post secondary as well. Manufacturing is very solid, technology is incredibly strong. The environmental diversity and outdoor opportunity is amazing. The cost of living here is very moderate and the overall tax burden is low. The only two changes I regret is that this is known as the "kidney stone belt" and I wish we had an east-west interstate cutting through. But other than that, there are VERY few places in the US that I'd rather live at. It's incredible that so many military brass and contractors retire in the area because they come back to the area they love.

That's why I take state rankings very lightly - they are simply not reflective at the reality level of how people actually select where they live. If you disagree, maybe you think all of New York is just like Manhatten and Long Island. Or that Maine is all just like their Southern coast. I'm sure Michigan loves their numbers being dragged down by those fabulous property values in Detroit. All of Nevada ain't just like Las Vegas. You can't even access Alaska's state capital from the rest of the state by road. And so forth. It's a foolish ranking methodology - there is simply too much variation out there.