After eight years of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, Michigan ranks among the five worst states in the nation in the new U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Overall Best States rankings, released last week.
Michigan landed at 46th overall; behind Arkansas and ahead of New Mexico, Mississippi, Alaska, and Louisiana. The West Michigan Policy Forum (WMPF) in Grand Rapids states the ranking is further confirmation of the warning signs it has been raising for years: Michigan’s policy choices are driving the state’s decline.
Overall, the report shows Michigan has a GDP of $730.1 billion, a population of 10,127,884, median household income of $72,389 (national average is $81,604), and 43.2 percent of residents are college educated (2025 figures).
In addition, Michigan for years has had one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates — 5.0 percent in June 2026. The national unemployment rate is 4.3 percent.
Among other sectors, Michigan ranked 45th in education, 43rd in economy, 42nd in infrastructure, 38th in fiscal stability, and 33rd in opportunity.
On education, Michigan’s 45th-place finish echoes the state’s 44th-place ranking in 4th grade reading, a crisis WMPF has spent the past year pressing lawmakers to address through literacy-based promotion (HB 5520) and A-F school accountability grading, both of which remain unfinished business in Lansing.
The 42nd-place ranking on infrastructure, which factors in electricity grid reliability, renews WMPF’s call to repeal the state’s cost-raising 2023 energy mandates in favor of sound planning that keeps power affordable and dependable for Michigan families and employers.
Regarding the economy and fiscal stability, the WMPF said the state’s meager performance reinforces the forum’s long-standing push to eliminate Michigan’s personal income tax, reform the Michigan Economic Development Corp. away from corporate handouts, and put the state’s unfunded pension liabilities on a sustainable path.
“This ranking isn’t a surprise to us; it’s a sad confirmation. We’ve been saying for years that Michigan’s policy choices, not bad luck nor winter weather, are why families and job creators are looking elsewhere,” says Jase Bolger, president and CEO of the West Michigan Policy Forum. “Every category dragging Michigan down is a category where the state has recently driven in the wrong direction.”
WMPF’s 2026 Policy Agenda is built around solutions to get Michigan moving in the right direction. The Rich States, Poor States economic ranking earlier this year, showed Michigan falling to 32nd in economic outlook. The most recent U.S. News ranking adds a second, independent data source pointing to the same conclusion.
The West Michigan Policy Forum and others continue to call on state lawmakers to act on the unfinished items in its agenda, including passage of HB 5520 and reinstatement of A-F school accountability grading.
The West Michigan Policy Forum is a nonpartisan organization that brings together leaders from across the state to advance policies that promote economic growth, innovation, and a high quality of life for all Michigan residents and businesses.
To view the state’s ranking, visit here.
