Economy, 7; education, 8; community, 9. Low crime (about half the national average) and high volunteerism (10 percentage points higher than US average) boost its "community" score.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/File
This file photo shows wild rice growing along the banks of Upper Whitefish Lake in Pine River, Minn. Minnesota boasts a low crime rate, about half the national average.