In the freedom ranks…
A new study shows Virginia ranks highest in overall freedom of the 11 states in the American South.
On the whole, Southern states tend to have more freedom than states in the Northeast and Midwest, according to “Freedom in the 50 States,” which was released last week by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Conducted by William P. Ruger and Jason Sorens, the studied focused on a wide array of issues, from campaign finance laws and health care costs to tobacco taxes and victimless crimes enforcement. State statistics regarding the economic, social and personal standards in relation to these topics were then weighed according to the level of public outcry and number of people affected in each category.
The study revealed that the most “free” states were the ones that were moderately conservative, placing New Hampshire, South Dakota and Indiana at the top and California, New Jersey and New York at the bottom.
State rankings, with Southern states emphasized:
1. New Hampshire (most overall freedom)
2. South Dakota
3. Indiana
9. Virginia
11. Florida
15. Georgia
16. Tennessee
18. North Carolina
19. Alabama
24. Mississippi
26. South Carolina
28. Arkansas
32. Kentucky
35. Louisiana
48. California
49. New Jersey
50. New York
To check rankings on four measures for any state, read more about this study or read the study itself, please see the links below.
- Freedom: Where does South Carolina rank? (Story in The [Charleston] Post and Courier)
- Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom [link to full report]
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