By PAUL HAMMEL
Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — An online financial advice firm is ranking Lincoln as the nation’s third best state capital to live in, right behind Pierre, South Dakota, and Madison, Wisconsin.
SmartAsset.com rated state capitals on a variety of factors, including estimated cost of living, unemployment rate, income growth, and high school graduation rate.
Lincoln ranked highest for employment and education as well as for affordability, according to SmartAsset.
Lincoln tied for the fifth-lowest June 2022 unemployment rate of 2.4% and had the 14th-highest high school graduation rate, 93%.
Nebraska’s Capital City also had the 14th-lowest annual cost of living ($23,419) and the 15th-lowest down payment-to-income ratio at 60%.
Dover, Delaware was ranked as the worst state capital, with the worst education and employment score among the capitals.
Interestingly, Denver, Colorado ranked as the fourth worst state capitol, getting low scores for affordability and leisure and safety.
SmartAsset said that with so many people moving to new locations, it made sense to assess which state capitals would be most attractive.
Cover image courtesy Nebraska Examiner