{"id":4455,"date":"2026-07-14T11:36:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4455"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:36:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:43","slug":"cnbc-survey-mocked-after-top-10-worst-places-to-live-are-all-red-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4455","title":{"rendered":"CNBC survey mocked after top 10 ‘worst places to live’ are all red states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CNBC faced a wave of online mockery Monday after releasing\u00a0its annual quality-of-life rankings, which exclusively placed conservative red states in all 10 spots of the \u201cworst places to live\u201d \u2014 even as official U.S. Census data shows some of those states are leading the nation in population growth.<\/p>\n

Read more Louisiana pastor Tony Spell ordered to stay 50 yards from alleged assault victim\u2019s home as bodycam appears to shows him using slur<\/a><\/p>\n

Critics quickly took to social media to call out the outlet for what they alleged as blatant liberal bias embedded in its ranking criteria.<\/p>\n

Counting down from the tenth-worst place to the first, CNBC ranked the bottom ten states as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and\u00a0Tennessee. <\/p>\n

All 10 states are Republican-led and voted for President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cCNBC is placing increasing emphasis on Quality of Life, one of the 10 categories of competitiveness in our annual\u00a0America\u2019s Top States for Business\u00a0study,\u201d CNBC\u2019s report states. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our annual ranking of every state\u2019s business climate, now in its 20th year. Under this year\u2019s methodology, the category makes up 11.6% of a state\u2019s overall score, up from about ten percent last year.\u00a0To score the states for quality of life, we use hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare. We also consider the cost and availability of childcare, inclusiveness of state laws, and reproductive rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The list is a subset of CNBC\u2019s annual \u201cAmerica\u2019s Top States for Business\u201d study. <\/p>\n

To determine its \u201cLife, Health and Inclusion\u201d category, the outlet utilizes criteria such as crime rates, air quality, healthcare, and childcare availability. <\/p>\n

The metric also factors heavily in ideological policies, explicitly penalizing states for lack of protections against discrimination and restrictive abortion laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome states offer exemplary quality of life. But these ten states do not make the grade,\u201d the CNBC report stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cCNBC just dropped their 2026 \u201810 Worst States to Live In\u2019 list \u2026 and it\u2019s pure comedy,\u201d conservative commentator Reverend Jordan Wells\u00a0wrote on X. <\/p>\n

\u201cShocking. All deep red, conservative states. But somehow\u00a0California and New York\u00a0\u2014 with the highest taxes in the country, insane cost of living, and endless progressive policies \u2014 didn\u2019t crack the top 10?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is correct. Please believe this. Tennessee is HORRIBLE. You definitely shouldn\u2019t move here\u2026,\u201d conservative Newsmax contributor Chrissy Clark\u00a0wrote with sarcasm.<\/p>\n

The corporate media outlet took direct shots at local conservative legislation across the board.<\/p>\n

Tennessee was dinged for the state\u2019s \u201cbathroom law\u201d \u2014 which requires transgender individuals to use facilities corresponding with their biological sex at birth \u2014 as well as a law barring localities from passing their own local antidiscrimination ordinances. <\/p>\n

The outlet also took aim at a joint resolution signed by Gov. Bill Lee this past April designating June as \u201cNuclear Family Month,\u201d while also noting it had low rankings for crime and drug deaths.<\/p>\n

Read more An 18% City Council pay hike is a middle finger to NYC voters<\/a><\/p>\n

Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was hit for its $7.25 minimum wage, low availability of childcare providers and air quality. <\/p>\n

Georgia, the fifth-worst in the survey, was explicitly called out for offering \u201cfew protections for LGBTQ+ people, making it one of America\u2019s least inclusive states.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic California Gov.\u00a0Gavin Newsom\u00a0immediately seized on the study, taking to X to point out that every single state on the list leaned red.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotice something in common?\u201d Newsom posted. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll\u00a0led by Republicans\u00a0\u2014 many suffering from California Derangement Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, conservatives and independent commentators noted that everyday Americans are \u201cvoting with their feet\u201d against progressive governance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you hate not paying income taxes, law and order, parental rights, smaller government, school choice, the Second Amendment, and criminal illegal aliens being arrested \u2026 Here\u2019s another garbage list from the mainstream media!\u201d Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, posted.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually I noticed something else: The list is a bulls\u2013t list that has nothing to do with quality of life for sane people,\u201d countered conservative activist\u00a0Robby Starbuck, a Tennessee resident. Starbuck, known for successfully leading major corporate boycotts against over-the-top DEI policies, added, \u201cIt\u2019s all predicated on\u00a0far left BS\u2026 Our states all gained population while YOUR state lost a record amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media personality Patrick Bet-David cited the net migration gains of the states CNBC criticized, noting that Texas added over 67,000 residents and Tennessee added over 42,000. <\/p>\n

Georgia and Alabama also saw\u00a0population influxes.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201c\u201910 worst states\u2019 based on what? CNBC had \u2018inclusivity\u2019 as one of its criteria,\u201d\u00a0Bet-David noted. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers tell a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

The demographic shift highlights a broader post-pandemic exodus from historically blue strongholds.<\/p>\n

While regions across the South and Sun Belt experience economic and population booms, major progressive cities like Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles continue to bleed residents due to high taxes, rising crime, and astronomical costs of living.<\/p>\n

U.S. Census Bureau data reveals that Los Angeles County alone has watched its population shrink from roughly 10 million in 2020 down to about 9.7 million today, losing over 56,000 residents in just a single one-year stretch. <\/p>\n

Similarly, a recent study by the Citizens Budget Commission confirmed that New York City continues to suffer net negative migration, losing far more domestic residents than it gains.<\/p>\n

Read more Eight changes MLB can implement to make All-Star Game even better<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CNBC’s annual survey of quality-of-life rankings was ridiculed online after the top 10 “worst places to live” were all red states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\nCNBC survey mocked after top 10 'worst places to live' are all red states - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4455\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CNBC survey mocked after top 10 'worst places to live' are all red states - 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