CNBC’s ‘worst states’ ranking under fire for scoring conservative policies as negatives

Men in women’s restrooms? Affirmative action? Suppression of religious freedom?

CNBC’s latest “America’s 10 worst states to live in” ranking, published Saturday, appears to place a heavy emphasis on liberal policies, contributing to a bottom-10 list of exclusively red states.

'If Texas was so bad, people wouldn't be fleeing blue states in droves to move here."

Among the criteria considered were crime rates, air quality, health care access, worker protections, civil rights laws, "reproductive rights," and inclusivity.

Tennessee was deemed the worst state to live in the U.S., followed by Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia, Utah, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

However, the methodology quickly drew criticism from conservative politicians and commentators, who argued that several of CNBC’s quality-of-life metrics effectively penalize states for enacting conservative policies.

Louisiana, for example, lost points for abolishing affirmative action requirements in the state’s civil service code in favor of a merit-based system.

“DEI has been swept out of Civil Service. Now employment decisions will be based strictly on the basis of merit,” Gov. Jeff Landry (R) proclaimed in January.

Louisiana was still awarded an “F” letter grade partly for scoring low on "inclusiveness."

Another “F” state, Georgia, was hit hard for a state law protecting the First Amendment’s right to religious freedom.

“The bill would prevent governments from impeding on someone’s religious rights in most cases and stop the enforcement of laws that conflict with someone’s religious expression,” the Associated Press reported.

During the bill’s signing, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp affirmed, “Georgia still remains a state where there is no place for hate, and I can assure all Georgians of that today.”

Citing the ongoing migration of residents from blue states to red states, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) pushed back against Texas’ low ranking, arguing that the state’s population growth tells a different story.

“If Texas was so bad, people wouldn't be fleeing blue states in droves to move here,” he posted on X.

RELATED: America's best and worst states for religious freedom — and what it means for our future

Al Drago/Getty Images

For Tennessee’s bio, CNBC came out swinging with an attack on the Volunteer State’s law prohibiting transgender-identifying individuals from using bathrooms and locker rooms that don’t align with their biological sex — accusing Tennessee Republicans of imposing “a rash of state laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community.”

The recent designation of June as “Nuclear Family Month” also came under fire.

The Tennessee resolution states, “The nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children, is God’s design for familial structure and has been the bedrock of society since the creation of the world.”

Yet CNBC criticized the measure, arguing, “Its sponsors deliberately timed the observance to coincide with the month when Tennessee’s more than 300,000 LGBTQ+ people celebrate Pride.”

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Tennessee’s defense in a post on X, writing, “If Tennessee was really the worst state to live in people wouldn’t be moving there in large numbers, which they are.”

“Typical nonsense,” he added.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton joined DeSantis in blasting the methodology.

“CNBC says the ability to kill unborn babies and engage in woke racism makes states better to live in,” Fitton said, partially in reference to Louisiana and Oklahoma being dinged for having “among the nation’s strictest abortion bans.”

On the other side of the aisle, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) used the ranking to mock Republicans suffering from what he described as “California Derangement Syndrome.”

“Notice something in common?” Newsom wrote. “All led by Republicans.”

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