Wide open spaces, clean air and low population density appear to be attractive to many Americans. That, at least, may be among the conclusions of a new Gallup poll. The states at the top of the list also tend to have homogeneous populations — perhaps people like living with other people like themselves.

Among the top states on the Gallup list to which people answered they are the best or among the best states possible places to live in: Montana (77%), Alaska (77%), Utah (70%), Wyoming (69%), Texas (68%), Hawaii (68%), New Hampshire (67%), North Dakota (66%), Colorado (65%), Vermont (61%), Oregon (61%) and Minnesota (61%). Notably, Texas is the only state among them with a large population. Also, almost all the states on the list are clustered in the Plains or upper New England.

At the lower end of the list are many of the older industrial states, along with two in the Deep South: Rhode Island (18%), Illinois (19%), Mississippi (26%), Louisiana (27%), Michigan (28%), New Mexico (28%), New Jersey (28%), Maryland (29%), Missouri (29%) and Connecticut (31%). Among the industrial states like Michigan, experts believe the lost industrial jobs will never return. States with poverty and lack of education are often led by Mississippi.

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Gallup points out that:

Residents with the most pride in their state as a place to live generally boast a greater standard of living, higher trust in state government, and less resentment toward the amount they pay in state taxes. However, the factors that residents use to determine whether their state is a great place to live are not always obvious. West Virginia, for example, falls far behind all other states on a variety of metrics, including economic confidence, well-being, standard of living, and stress levels.

It is hard to imagine that, among any of the states at either end of the spectrum, these factors will change for many years, if they every change at all. In other words, the list is likely fixed as it is for years.

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