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Republican governors are firing back at CNBC after the monetary news outlet released its annual quality-of-life rankings, which positioned conservative pink states in all of the bottom-10 spots on the record, at the same time as official U.S. Census information exhibits these very states are main the nation in inhabitants progress.
CNBC confronted a wave of on-line mockery and conservative backlash Monday following the discharge of its 2026 “America’s Top States for Business” research. Critics shortly took to social media to name out the outlet, alleging a blatant liberal bias embedded in its rating standards, which closely penalize conservative laws.
“Somebody must have forgotten to tell the tens of thousands of new Arkansans who have moved to our state in the last few years about this CNBC report, because they’re voting with their feet and voting overwhelmingly for the commonsense, conservative leadership Arkansas offers,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders informed Fox News Digital.
CNBC SURVEY MOCKED AFTER RANKING ALL RED STATES AS TOP 10 ‘WORST PLACES TO LIVE’
Republican governors, together with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, criticized CNBC after it launched quality-of-life rankings that positioned GOP-led states within the backside 10. (Al Drago/Pool Photo by way of AP, File)
Counting down from the tenth-worst quality-of-life rating to absolutely the worst, CNBC ranked the underside 10 states as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. All ten states are Republican-led and voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.
The record is a subset of CNBC’s broader enterprise research, which is now in its twentieth yr.
“CNBC is placing increasing emphasis on Quality of Life, one of the 10 categories of competitiveness in our annual America’s Top States for Business study,” CNBC’s report states. Under this yr’s methodology, the “Life, Health and Inclusion” class makes up 11.6% of a state’s general rating, up from about 10% final yr.
To decide the rankings, CNBC stated it makes use of “hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare.” However, the metric additionally components closely in ideological insurance policies, explicitly penalizing states for a scarcity of protections in opposition to discrimination and restrictive abortion legal guidelines.
“Some states offer exemplary quality of life. But these ten states do not make the grade,” the CNBC report acknowledged.
A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott informed Fox News Digital that CNBC’s record “does not reflect reality.”
LIZ PEEK: DEMOCRATS’ AFFORDABILITY SCAM COLLAPSES IN STATES THEY ACTUALLY RUN
Little Rock, Arkansas, skyline at sundown. CNBC’s methodology used within the “Life, Health and Inclusion” class makes up 11.6% of a state’s general rating, up from about 10% final yr. (iStock)
“CNBC’s ranking is flawed and does not reflect reality. Texas’ low taxes, strong economy, abundant energy, and commitment to freedom deliver the quality of life and opportunity that millions of Americans choose every year,” stated Andrew Mahaleris, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary. “Governor Abbott will continue to work to keep Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s workplace additionally dismissed the rankings as “baseless” and politically pushed.
“As was made clear by the baseless ‘qualifications’ they used for their report, CNBC has prioritized trendy politics over affordability and the issues that actually matter to real Americans,” a spokesperson for Kemp’s workplace informed Fox News Digital.
Kemp’s workplace added: “Instead of publishing these laughable rankings that no one believes, CNBC should talk to any of the more than 500,000 Americans who have moved to Georgia in the last five years — many of them no doubt fleeing Democrat-run states like New York and California for a red state run by common sense and fiscal responsibility.”
AMERICANS KEEP MOVING TO TEXAS AND FLORIDA — BUT ONE OTHER RED STATE IS GROWING EVEN FASTER
Texas gained a internet of over 67,000 residents by way of home migration alone between mid-2024 and mid-2025, whereas Tennessee added over 42,000 and Alabama picked up greater than 23,000, authorities information exhibits. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
In its report, the media outlet took direct photographs at local conservative legislation throughout the board.
Tennessee, which was topped the one worst state to stay in, was dinged for the state’s “bathroom law” — which requires transgender people to make use of amenities corresponding with their organic intercourse at beginning — in addition to a legislation barring localities from passing their very own native antidiscrimination ordinances. The outlet additionally took goal at a joint decision signed by Gov. Bill Lee designating June as “Nuclear Family Month,” whereas additionally noting the state’s excessive fee of drug deaths.
Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was hit for its $7.25 minimal wage, low availability of childcare suppliers, and air quality. Georgia, the fifth-worst, was explicitly known as out for providing “few protections for LGBTQ+ people.”
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office instantly seized on the research, taking to X to level out the partisan break up.
“Notice something in common?” the governor’s workplace posted. “All led by Republicans — many suffering from California Derangement Syndrome.”
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According to U.S. Census information, Los Angeles County misplaced a complete of 53,000 residents from mid-2024 to mid-2025. (iStock)
However, official inhabitants shifts spotlight a broader, post-pandemic exodus from traditionally blue strongholds towards the very pink states criticized by CNBC. While areas throughout the South and Sun Belt expertise financial and inhabitants booms, main progressive hubs proceed to bleed residents.
According to U.S. Census Bureau information, Texas gained a net of over 67,000 residents by way of home migration alone between mid-2024 and mid-2025, whereas Tennessee added over 42,000 and Alabama picked up greater than 23,000.
By distinction, Los Angeles County watched its inhabitants shrink by greater than 53,000 residents over the identical one-year stretch— the most important numeric decline of any county within the nation. Similarly, a current research by the Citizens Budget Commission confirmed that New York City misplaced a internet of 114,000 residents to home outmigration over that interval.
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Fox News Digital reached out to CNBC for remark however didn’t instantly obtain a response.