Hartford Named Worst State Capital in America

Illustration by Kyle Clauss

Hartford is the worst state capital in America, according to new report. And other New England hubs didn’t fare much better.

The capital of Connecticut ranked dead-last in list of the best and worst state capitals, compiled by personal finance social network WalletHub. Providence ranked fifth-worst, and Boston, tenth.

To compile the ranking, WalletHub compared the 50 state capitals across four dimensions: affordability (housing costs, cost of living, median household income), economic well-being (unemployment rate, percentage of residents below poverty level, population growth, foreclosure rate, building permit activity), education and health (K-12 school quality, average university score in U.S. News & World Report, number of hospital beds per 1,000 residents), and quality of life (traffic congestion, walkability, average commute time, crime rate).

Hartford had the highest unemployment rate and the fewest mean hours worked per week. Providence, Boston, and Hartford ranked 47th, 48th, and 49th for affordable housing.Montpellier had the lowest crime rate, while Boston had the third-largest percentage of Millennial newcomers.

Austin, Texas was named the best state capital in America, followed by Lincoln, Nebraska, Bismarck, North Dakota, Madison, Wisconsin, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

You can check out WalletHub’s full ranking here.