Republican governors are pushing back against CNBC after the financial news network released its annual quality-of-life rankings, which placed conservative-led states in every bottom-10 spot. The rankings, part of CNBC's broader «America's Top States for Business» study, drew immediate criticism from state leaders who pointed to official U.S. Census data showing that those very states are leading the nation in population growth.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News Digital that the report does not reflect the reality of what is happening in her state. «Somebody must have forgotten to tell the tens of thousands of new Arkansans who have moved to our state in the last few years about this CNBC report, because they're voting with their feet and voting overwhelmingly for the commonsense, conservative leadership Arkansas offers,» she said.
Counting down from the tenth-worst to the absolute worst, CNBC ranked the bottom ten states as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. All ten states are led by Republican governors and voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The list is a subset of CNBC's broader business study, now in its 20th year.
CNBC stated that its «Life, Health and Inclusion» category makes up 11.6 percent of a state's overall score, up from about 10 percent last year. The outlet said it uses «hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare» but also explicitly penalizes states for lacking protections against discrimination and for restrictive abortion laws. «Some states offer exemplary quality of life. But these ten states do not make the grade,» the CNBC report stated.
A spokesperson for Texas Governor Greg Abbott dismissed the rankings as flawed. «CNBC's ranking is flawed and does not reflect reality. Texas' low taxes, strong economy, abundant energy, and commitment to freedom deliver the quality of life and opportunity that millions of Americans choose every year,» said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary. «Governor Abbott will continue to work to keep Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.»
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's office also rejected the rankings as politically motivated. «As was made clear by the baseless 'qualifications' they used for their report, CNBC has prioritized trendy politics over affordability and the issues that actually matter to real Americans,» a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Kemp's office added that CNBC should talk to the more than 500,000 Americans who have moved to Georgia in the last five years, many of them fleeing Democrat-run states like New York and California.
In its report, CNBC took direct aim at conservative legislation. Tennessee, ranked the worst state to live in, was criticized for its «bathroom law,» which requires transgender individuals to use facilities corresponding with their biological sex at birth, as well as a law barring localities from passing their own antidiscrimination ordinances. The outlet also noted a joint resolution signed by Governor Bill Lee designating June as «Nuclear Family Month» and highlighted the state's high rate of drug deaths.
Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was penalized for its $7.25 minimum wage, low availability of childcare providers, and air quality. Georgia, the fifth-worst, was called out for offering «few protections for LGBTQ+ people.» Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office seized on the study, posting on X: «Notice something in common? All led by Republicans — many suffering from California Derangement Syndrome.»
However, official population shifts tell a different story. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Texas gained a net of over 67,000 residents through domestic migration alone between mid-2024 and mid-2025. Tennessee added more than 42,000 residents, and Alabama picked up more than 23,000. By contrast, Los Angeles County saw its population shrink by more than 53,000 residents over the same period — the largest numeric decline of any county in the nation. A study by the Citizens Budget Commission confirmed that New York City lost a net of 114,000 residents to domestic outmigration during that time.
The migration patterns reflect a broader post-pandemic exodus from historically blue strongholds toward the very red states criticized by CNBC. While regions across the South and Sun Belt experience economic and population booms, major progressive hubs continue to lose residents. Fox News Digital reached out to CNBC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.