MISSOURI, USA — A St. Louis suburb is celebrating after being named one of the best suburbs in the nation. The only thing holding it back, it seems, is the state the suburb is in.
This year's edition of CNBC's annual "Top States for Business" study listed Missouri's high crime rate, along with its lack of voting rights and reproductive rights, as the main reasons it ranked as the seventh worst "quality of life" state in the country.
"Missouri remains one of the most burdensome states to vote in," elections researcher Michael Pomante, who has published a Cost of Voting Index since 2018, told CNBC. "Missouri is one of only 10 states requiring a qualified excuse to vote by mail. Missouri also has America’s sixth-highest crime rate, with more than 30,000 offenses reported in 2022."
- Texas
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Missouri
- Louisiana
- Kansas
- Arizona
The study gave Missouri an "F" in quality of life and in its workforce. The only "A" grades Missouri received were in cost of living and cost of doing business.
The only quality of life strength Missouri has as a state is its air quality, CNBC said. Only one city in the state, Kansas City, was ranked as one of the lowest in the nation for year-round particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association.
"With unemployment low and workers still in short supply, companies are seeking to locate in states that can attract a broad array of talent. That makes quality of life an economic imperative," CNBC said. "We look at inclusiveness in state laws, including protections against discrimination of all kinds, as well as voting rights, including accessible and secure election systems … And with surveys showing a sizeable percentage of younger workers would not live in a state that bans abortion, we factor reproductive rights in this category as well."
