ST. LOUIS—Missouri’s strict abortion law, crime rate and voting rights law are among the reasons it landed on CNBC’s list of “America’s 10 worst states to live and work in for 2023.”
CNBC does an annual assessment of state business climates, analyzing how welcoming states are to workers and their families. In 2023, America’s Top States for Business study ranked Missouri 32 based on more than 86 different metrics in 10 key categories.
Missouri ranked 49 out of 50 states when it comes to the Workforce category.
It also ranked as the sixth worse state to live and work in based on the Life, Health and Inclusion category. CNBC says took on increased importance this year due to the severity of the nationwide worker shortage.
The category measures the quality of life issues including crime, health care, childcare and health care, as well as inclusive policies on discrimination and reproductive rights, according to CNBC.
Missouri did rank high for the Cost of Doing Business, ranked 2 out of 50 states, and for Cost of Living, which it came in 7 out of 50.
Here's what CNBC cited about Missouri’s Life, Health and Inclusion rank:
- Reproductive rights: Missouri has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, banning all abortions except in the case of a medical emergency, which the abortion provider must prove. Missouri also approved a so-called “trigger law” which went into effect quickly after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
- Crime: Missouri’s violent crime rate is among the highest in the nation.
- Voting Rights: Missouri passed an election law in 2022 requiring voters to show photo identification to cast a regular ballot in an election.
The other states on CNBC’s list are Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.