With its clean air, diverse seasons and geography,
good neighbors, and lack of a sales or income tax, the phrase means
many things to many people. To the folks at Morgan
Quitno Press in Lawrence, Kansas, it means a very specific set
of measurable factors.
For the third year in a row, Morgan Quitno named
New Hampshire the “Most
Livable State” in 2006, based on 44 positive and negative factors,
ranging from median household income, job growth and percent of population
with at least a bachelor’s degree to unemployment, crime and
highway fatality rates.
While no one category paints the entire picture,
the amalgam of all 44 has consistently put New Hampshire on or near
the top (second in 2002 and 2003), and since 2004 it has been Number
1 each year. And
that’s not to mention the fact that Morgan Quitno also deemed
New Hampshire the second-healthiest state in its most recent
report.
Among the New Hampshire highlights of the 2006 report:
Third-lowest crime rate
Eighth-best percent of population covered by health insurance
Lowest teenage birth rate
Lowest infant mortality rate
Lowest poverty rate
Highest median household income
Eighth-lowest unemployment rate
Third-highest percent of population with at
least a bachelor’s
degree
Fifth-highest percent of eligible population voting
So come see for yourself, and take advantage of all that New Hampshire
has to offer.