Minnesota ranked #1: The policy record behind the numbers
Key Takeaways
In June 2026, a bipartisan Tulane University study ranked Minnesota #1 in overall quality of life across all 50 states.
The ranking reflects consistent strengths across multiple categories: voter participation (#3), poverty reduction (#4), education (#4), social isolation (#4), and employment (#3).
Those outcomes connect to policy decisions made by Minnesota's current officeholders — in elections administration, law enforcement, the executive branch, the state legislature, and the U.S. Senate.
Minnesota still ranks in the bottom third nationally for youth depression (#43) and greenhouse gas emissions (#38) — areas where the 2026 election will matter.
Minnesota offers the best quality of life in the nation, according to a quality-of-life study from the State of the Nation Project at Tulane University.
The cross-partisan research group spent years building the methodology to arrive at that finding, examining 31 measures across 30 years of data, with advisors from the full political spectrum.
Those measures capture something real about life here: what it looks like when people consistently show up for each other through voting, volunteering, investing in good schools, and looking out for their neighbors.
What the report actually measures
The 31 measures span 14 topics: education, employment, poverty, life expectancy, civic participation, social capital, mental health, violence, inequality, environment, trust in institutions, and more. Minnesota's #1 ranking reflects the highest average across all 31 of those measures, each weighted equally.
Ranked in the top five nationally:
Voter participation (#3)
Employment rate (#3)
Labor force participation (#3)
Poverty reduction (#4)
Social isolation (#4)
Volunteerism (#4)
Young adults employed or in school (#4)
Also in the top ten:
Academic test scores (#7)
Life expectancy (#8)
Low birthweight (#8)
And, remember: These rankings are based on the past three decades of data. According to the nonpartisan Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, DFLers have held at least two of Minnesota's three branches of state government for approximately 22 of the 34 years this data covers.
Minnesota's current officeholders and the rankings they've impacted
In Minnesota, community values become policy through a process that starts at neighborhood precinct meetings, builds through district conventions, and lands at the State Convention, where DFL delegates vote on the party's platform.
Several of the officeholders who carried those priorities into law are DFL-endorsed candidates in Senate District 14, and they're on your ballot this November. Here's how their work has impacted the State of the Nation data.
Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State – Running for re-election
Minnesota's civic participation record is one of the strongest in the nation, and the data confirms it. The State of the Nation report ranks Minnesota #3 in voter participation and #2 overall in citizenship and democracy, a category that measures not just who votes but how deeply communities engage with democratic institutions.
In practical terms, Minnesota consistently turns out well above the national average, election after election. That doesn't happen by accident. It reflects sustained investment in the systems that make participation accessible. Steve Simon has served as Secretary of State since 2015, and Minnesota has held its top-three position for voter participation through every election on his watch. Under Simon, that infrastructure expanded:
Pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, giving young Minnesotans a head start on civic life
Expandedsame-day registration infrastructure, removing barriers at the point of voting
Legislationrestoring voting rights to Minnesotans with felony convictions upon release from incarceration
Resistance to federal attempts to access Minnesota's voter rolls in 2025, protecting the integrity of the state's election systems under state law
A #2 ranking in citizenship and democracy, sustained across decades of data, is a genuine achievement. It reflects a state that believes participation matters — and builds the systems to back that up. Simon is seeking re-election.
Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General – Running for re-election
The Attorney General is Minnesota's chief legal officer and consumer protection advocate, with authority to take on price gouging, predatory lending, wage theft, opioid manufacturers, environmental violations, and corporations that break state law.
The office also represents more than 100 state agencies in court and defends Minnesota laws against legal challenge, including the 40+ lawsuits Ellison's office has filed against federal actions threatening Minnesota's schools, healthcare programs, and infrastructure funding.
When it comes to criminal fraud prosecution, state law sets a specific boundary: the AG's office has authority to prosecute Medicaid fraud. All other social services fraud — child nutrition programs, housing assistance, childcare subsidies — falls to county attorneys, city attorneys, or federal prosecutors. That statutory boundary is fixed regardless of who holds the office.
Within that jurisdiction, Ellison's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has built a strong national record:
Ranked 5th in the country for Medicaid fraud prosecutions
More than 340 convictions secured
More than $90 million recovered for Minnesota taxpayers
Beyond Medicaid enforcement, Ellison's office has delivered concrete wins for Minnesotans:
Negotiated a $35 insulin cap with Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk — locked in for five years
Established a Wage Theft Division in 2019, recovering stolen wages for workers across the state
Held opioid manufacturers accountable through litigation, contributing to national settlement funds
In 2026, the MAP Act — Ellison's legislation to expand his unit's legal tools and capacity — passed with strong bipartisan support. Amy Klobuchar's gubernatorial platform calls for applying the same accountability standards across all state programs, building on what the MAP Act established for Medicaid. Ellison is seeking re-election.
Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor – Running for U.S. Senate
Peggy Flanagan has served as Lieutenant Governor since 2019, working alongside Governor Walz to set the executive agenda and champion specific policy priorities through the legislature. During the 2023 session — the most productive in Minnesota in decades — she drove legislation that connects directly to several of the state's strongest rankings:
Paid family and medical leave, effective January 1, 2026, which she championed from the start → workforce stability and employment rankings (#3)
A historic housing investment including down payment assistance, construction support, and rental assistance — Flanagan chairs the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness and made housing a centerpiece of her work as LG → poverty ranking (#4)
Expanded childcare access and investment — she was the DFL lead on childcare before becoming LG → workforce stability, children and families rankings
The largest expansion of prevailing wage protections in state history → employment rankings (#3)
Free school meals for all students → education ranking (#4)
Flanagan also created the nation's firstMissing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office — the result of years of advocacy for Indigenous communities that predates her time as LG. She is now running for U.S. Senate.
Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator - Running for Governor
Amy Klobuchar has represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate since 2007. Several federal policy outcomes in the State of the Nation data trace to her work in Washington:
Led the fight for Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices (Inflation Reduction Act) → healthcare costs and access for seniors
Helped pass the PACT Act, extending healthcare coverage to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals
Secured infrastructure funding supporting Minnesota's top-three employment and economic opportunity rankings
Consistently ranked among the most productive and bipartisan senators.
Her gubernatorial platform carries that accountability focus into state government:
Day-one audit of all state agencies — Starting with a full review of where state dollars go ensures accountability is built into the administration from day one, before spending continues on autopilot.
Tougher criminal penalties for organized fraud — Minnesota's fraud cases have involved coordinated networks of providers; enhanced sentencing specifically targets those organized schemes.
"Do Not Pay" database blocking convicted fraudsters from receiving state funds — A permanent database prevents convicted fraudsters from reapplying for state funding, stopping repeat offenders at the point of application rather than after the fact.
Explicit support for Ellison's MAP Act — The MAP Act currently applies to Medicaid; Klobuchar's platform would extend the same accountability standards to all state-funded programs.
Klobuchar is running for Governor.
Aric Putnam, State Senator, District 14 – Running for re-election
Aric Putnam has represented Senate District 14 since 2021, chairing the Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee and serving as vice chair of the Higher Education Committee.
His2023 agriculture budget bill passed 58–7 — one of the most bipartisan votes of the session — committing $100 million to rural broadband expansion and establishing the state's grain indemnity fund.
His2024 omnibus policy bill built directly on that foundation:
Strengthened grain indemnity protections for small elevators
Created an enforcement portal for violations of Minnesota's laws restricting corporate farmland ownership
Broadband access underpins both economic participation and educational opportunity in rural communities. Minnesota's top-four rankings in education and employment reflect statewide investment in that infrastructure. Putnam is seeking re-election.
Where Minnesota's rankings show room for improvement
The State of the Nation report ranks Minnesota #43 for youth depression — in the bottom third nationally. On greenhouse gas emissions, the state ranks #38, with air quality at #25. These are issues with real consequences for Minnesotans.
On youth depression, the researchers found that no state improved on this measure from the previous year. The national trend is worsening. Minnesota's bottom-third ranking indicates the state is struggling more than most, even as the problem crosses state lines and political affiliations. Part 2 of this series covers DFL-endorsed challengers whose backgrounds include direct professional experience in mental health — and whose platforms address this gap specifically.
On environment, the 100% carbon-free electricity standard passed in 2023 — targeting 2040 — is designed to move the emissions rankings over time. The data impact will appear as the energy transition advances.
The 2026 ballot and what comes next
Several programs from the 2023 legislative session only took effect in January 2026. Their full data impact won't appear until the next reporting cycle. The State of the Nation data reflects where Minnesota stands now, but not yet the full effect of decisions already made.
The second post in this series covers even more DFL-endorsed challengers on the SD14 2026 ballot. These candidates bring specific professional expertise to both the strengths and the gaps in these rankings.
Minnesota ranked first overall in the 2026 State of the States report — a quality-of-life study from the State of the Nation Project at Tulane University. The project's board spans seven leading think tanks across the political spectrum, including advisors to the past five presidential administrations from both parties. The report analyzed all 50 states across 31 measures and more than 4,000 indicators, drawing on data going back to 1990. It covers education, employment, civic participation, health, family stability, violence, social trust, and more. Minnesota ranked highest on average across all of them.
