How It’s Calculated
The following list indicates the weighting of the relevant variables that led to the rankings of states on this website.
Economic Freedom
Regulatory Policy
- Local rent control
- 5.3%
- “Land use” court mentions
- 2.3%
- Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index
- 2.3%
- Renewable portfolio standards
- 1.2%
- Regulatory takings compensation
- 0.1%
- Eminent domain reform index
- 0.1%
- State framework for mandatory inclusionary zoning
- 0.1%
- State “builder’s remedy” law
- 0.03%
- Statewide urban growth boundary
- 0.03%
- Environmental review of housing
- 0.03%
- ADU law index
- 0.03%
- Housing appeals board
- 0.01%
- Parking lot gun mandate
- 0.01%
- Mandated free speech on private property
- <0.01%
- Individual health insurance mandate
- 2.3%
- Community rating, small groups
- 2.2%
- Health insurance mandates index
- 1.8%
- Individual guaranteed issue
- 0.6%
- Small group rate review
- 0.5%
- Community rating, individuals
- 0.4%
- Direct access to specialists mandated
- 0.3%
- Individual rate review
- 0.05%
- Standing referrals mandated
- 0.03%
- Individual policies, elimination riders banned
- 0.02%
- Mandated external grievance review
- 0.02%
- Financial incentives to providers banned
- 0.01%
- General right-to-work law
- 2.4%
- Short-term disability insurance
- 0.9%
- Noncompete agreements permitted
- 0.8%
- Minimum wage
- 0.7%
- Workers’ compensation funding regulations
- 0.5%
- Workers’ compensation coverage regulations
- 0.3%
- Employer verification of legal status
- 0.1%
- Employee anti-discrimination law
- 0.01%
- Paid family leave
- <0.01%
- Nurse practitioner independence index
- 0.8%
- Employment-weighted licensure
- 0.8%
- Archbridge index
- 0.4%
- Regulatory keywords in statutes
- 0.4%
- Education requirements
- 0.1%
- Dental hygienist scope of practice
- 0.1%
- Physician assistant prescribing authority
- 0.04%
- Integrated bar
- 0.04%
- Sunrise commissions
- 0.03%
- Nurse Licensure Compact membership
- 0.03%
- Examination requirements
- 0.02%
- Sunset review
- 0.01%
- Fees requirements
- 0.01%
- Certificate-of-need requirement for hospitals
- 0.7%
- Rate filing requirements: personal auto insurance
- 0.4%
- Rate filing requirements: homeowner’s insurance
- 0.3%
- Anti-price-gouging laws
- 0.2%
- General sales-below-cost laws
- 0.2%
- Rate classification prohibitions
- 0.2%
- Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact
- 0.1%
- Sales-below-cost law for gasoline
- 0.1%
- Direct auto sales
- 0.1%
- Moving company entry regulation
- 0.02%
- Mandatory labeling law
- 0.01%
- Telecommunications deregulation
- 0.7%
- Statewide cable franchising
- 0.3%
Fiscal Policy
State Taxation 12.5%
Government consumption and investment 8.2%
Local taxation 7.8%
Government employment 2%
Government debt 0.3%
Cash and security assets 0.2%
Personal Freedom
- Crime-adjusted incarceration rate
- 3.7%
- Drug enforcement rate
- 1.8%
- Arrests for nondrug victimless crimes, % of population
- 0.6%
- Arrests for nondrug victimless crimes, % of all arrests
- 0.6%
- Driver’s license suspensions for drug offenses
- 0.04%
- Prison collect phone call rate
- 0.01%
- Qualified immunity reform
- <0.01%
- Casino and racino win (revenue)
- 2.5%
- Slot/video games outside casinos
- 1.3%
- Sports betting
- 0.1%
- Pari-mutuel wagering
- 0.03%
- Aggravated gambling felony
- 0.02%
- Social gambling allowed
- 0.02%
- Charitable gambling
- 0.01%
- Express prohibition on internet gambling
- <0.01%
- Concealed-carry index
- 1.6%
- Initial permit cost
- 0.4%
- Local gun ban
- 0.3%
- Firearms licensing index
- 0.3%
- Waiting period for purchases
- 0.3%
- Initial permit term
- 0.2%
- Open-carry index
- 0.1%
- Training or testing requirement
- 0.1%
- Stricter minimum age
- 0.1%
- Assault weapons ban
- 0.05%
- No duty to retreat
- 0.04%
- Registration of firearms
- 0.03%
- Dealer licensing
- 0.02%
- Built-in locking devices
- 0.02%
- Restrictions on multiple purchases
- 0.02%
- Background checks for private sales
- 0.02%
- Design safety standards
- 0.01%
- Machine guns
- 0.01%
- Ballistic identification
- 0.01%
- Retention of sales records
- 0.01%
- Short-barreled shotguns
- 0.01%
- Short-barreled rifles
- 0.01%
- Large-capacity magazine bans
- <0.01%
- Sound suppressor
- <0.01%
- .50 caliber ban
- <0.01%
- Cigarette tax
- 1.7%
- Flavored vape ban
- 0.8%
- Minimum legal sale age 21
- 0.5%
- Smoking ban, bars
- 0.2%
- Internet purchase regulations
- 0.04%
- Vaping ban on private property
- 0.03%
- Smoking ban, private workplaces
- 0.02%
- Smoking ban, restaurants
- 0.02%
- Vending machine regulations
- 0.02%
- Same-sex partnership index
- 1.8%
- Super-DOMAs
- 0.7%
- Sodomy laws
- 0.3%
- Cousin marriage
- 0.2%
- Covenant marriage
- 0.1%
- Blood test required
- 0.01%
- Waiting period
- 0.01%
- Tax credit/deduction law for scholarships/expenses
- 1.1%
- Publicly funded voucher law
- 0.8%
- Mandatory licensure, private school teachers
- 0.5%
- Mandatory state approval, private schools
- 0.2%
- Compulsory school years
- 0.2%
- Curriculum control, private schools
- 0.1%
- Public school choice
- 0.1%
- Curriculum control, homeschools
- 0.04%
- Record-keeping requirements, homeschools
- 0.03%
- Standardized testing requirements, homeschools
- 0.03%
- Notification requirements, homeschools
- 0.02%
- Teacher qualifications, homeschools
- 0.01%
- Mandatory registration, private schools
- <0.01%
- Homeschooling statute
- <0.01%
- Medical marijuana index
- 1.1%
- Possession decriminalization/legalization
- 0.7%
- Maximum marijuana penalty
- 0.3%
- Sales legalization
- 0.3%
- Marijuana misdemeanor index
- 0.2%
- Mandatory minimums
- 0.1%
- Salvia ban
- 0.1%
- Alcohol distribution control
- 0.9%
- Off-premises sales in grocery stores
- 0.4%
- Blue law index
- 0.3%
- Spirits taxes
- 0.3%
- Wine taxes
- 0.2%
- Beer taxes
- 0.2%
- Direct wine shipment ban
- 0.1%
- Keg registration/ban
- 0.1%
- Happy hour ban
- 0.02%
- Mandatory server training
- <0.01%
- State asset forfeiture law, aggregate score
- 1.0%
- Moving average of equitable sharing revenue
- 1.0%
- Affirmative action ban
- 0.7%
- Prostitution legal
- 0.2%
- Trans-fat bans
- 0.3%
- Raw milk legal
- 0.1%
- Mixed martial arts legal
- 0.04%
- Fireworks laws
- 0.04%
- Equal Rights Amendment
- 0.03%
- Physician-assisted suicide legal
- 0.03%
- DNA database index
- 0.01%
- Religious freedom restoration act
- 0.01%
- Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
- 0.4%
- Automated license plate readers
- 0.3%
- Seat belt laws
- 0.1%
- Fingerprint for driver’s license
- 0.1%
- Sobriety checkpoints
- 0.1%
- Motorcycle helmet law
- 0.1%
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage mandate
- 0.1%
- Handheld cell phone ban
- 0.01%
- Individual contributions to candidates
- 0.03%
- Individual contributions to parties
- 0.02%
- Grassroots political action committee contributions to candidates
- 0.01%
- Grassroots political action committee contributions to parties
- 0.01%
- Public financing
- <0.01%
Note: Because of rounding and time-varying weights, percentages listed do not sum to exactly 100.