Is Iowa or Illinois The Better State To Live In?

Home is where the heart is.  And for some, the heart is happy where others are miserable.  So you might completely disagree with these rankings. But the stats don't lie.

Who ranked higher on the list...Iowa or Illinois?  These are the best states to live in in 2026.

What Is Most Important To Where You Live?

cars passing through north and south

Depending on what you want in life, some of these metrics may have hurt your favorite state, but it doesn't bother you at all.

Things like traffic congestion.  Having lived in cities like Houston and Dallas, I can tell you that I do not miss the hour-long commute.  15 minutes to anywhere is glorious.

Another metric is "accessibility of beaches.  You might not care at all.  But again, as someone who used to live in Houston, the 45-minute drive to get to a beach was nice.  I do miss that.

In the 51 metrics, they break down to 5 categories.  Affordability, Economy, Education and Health, Quality of Life, and Safety.

Now again, if all you care about is Safety...then these full rankings might not be for you.  Each category was worth 20 points.

And The Best State Is...

green trees on green grass field during daytime

That doesn't look like Iowa or Illinois?  It's not...it's another one that starts with an "I".  Idaho took the top spot in 2026.

Want the best state in the Midwest?  Head north.  Wisconsin is the number 3 state on the best states of 2026 list.

And in the battle of the Quad Cities to see which side of the river is better (according to these rankings from WalletHub, not this author's or radio station's opinion) is Iowa!

Iowa came in 11th overall while Illinois is 18th.

While Illinois had bright spots finishing in the top 10 of Quality of Life and Safety, it bottomed out in Affordability and Economy.

Iowa had nothing overwhelmingly bad but nothing in the top 10 of overall categories.  However, the breakdown did show that Iowa had the lowest housing costs in the nation.

Oh, since I mentioned the best state, I should probably also tell you the worst.  Sorry New Mexico.

You can see the full list and full methodology at the WalletHub page here.

7 Freakin Years