Primetime News Outlet Called Out For Its Bias
Rankings are only as objective as the criteria used to create them. Choose one set of measurements, and a state can look like a paradise. Choose another, and that same state can suddenly appear to be one of the worst places in the country. That criticism has been directed at CNBC after the outlet published […]
Rankings are only as objective as the criteria used to create them. Choose one set of measurements, and a state can look like a paradise. Choose another, and that same state can suddenly appear to be one of the worst places in the country.
That criticism has been directed at CNBC after the outlet published its list of “America’s 10 Worst States to Live in for 2026.”
The rankings placed Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee at the bottom of the list.
The reaction from many conservatives was predictable. Rather than debating the rankings themselves, they questioned the assumptions behind them.
CNBC explained that its quality-of-life score relied on measurable factors including crime rates, air quality, healthcare, and childcare costs and availability. It also incorporated categories such as the inclusiveness of state laws and reproductive rights into the final rankings.
Critics argue that while some of those metrics are objective, others reflect political values rather than universally accepted measures of quality of life. They contend that weighting those categories heavily can shape the outcome just as much as any hard data.
The political pattern also attracted attention.
Every state included in CNBC’s bottom 10 voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. For critics of the rankings, that overlap was difficult to ignore.
Another set of rankings tells a very different story.