freedomrankings.com2026 Freedom Index · Updated July 2026
As of July 2026, the freest US states on the FreedomRankings index are Utah (#1, 74/100), New Hampshire (#2, 73.7/100), Montana (#3, 72.1/100), North Dakota (#4, 70.8/100), Arizona (#5, 69.3/100). The least free are Hawaii, New York, Delaware, California, Massachusetts. Each of the 50 states below is scored 0–100 across ten freedoms — 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendment rights, economic freedom, criminal justice, drug policy, property rights, religious liberty, education choice, and regulatory burden — using established, annually-updated third-party indexes.
Below are the top 10 states by overall freedom score — expand the list for the full 2026 ranking of all 50. Tap any state for its full category breakdown, representatives, and voting records — or use the interactive tool further down to re-weight the categories and build your own personalized ranking. See the methodology for how each score is calculated and sourced, or read the full 2026 State of Freedom Report.
| Rank | State | Freedom score | Grade | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 74/100 | B | +8.6 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 73.7/100 | B | -10.1 |
| 3 | Montana | 72.1/100 | B | +2.1 |
| 4 | North Dakota | 70.8/100 | B | +13.0 |
| 5 | Arizona | 69.3/100 | B- | -13.3 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 69/100 | B- | -1.8 |
| 7 | Missouri | 66.2/100 | B- | -1.8 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 65.4/100 | B- | +16.8 |
| 9 | Florida | 64.6/100 | C+ | +1.0 |
| 10 | Indiana | 64.2/100 | C+ | +9.8 |
| Rank | State | Freedom score | Grade | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Minnesota | 63.6/100 | C+ | +10.2 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 62.9/100 | C+ | +18.5 |
| 13 | Wyoming | 62.8/100 | C+ | +18.6 |
| 14 | Idaho | 62.7/100 | C+ | +19.7 |
| 15 | Maine | 61.8/100 | C+ | -6.0 |
| 16 | Vermont | 61.3/100 | C+ | -5.3 |
| 17 | Kansas | 60.9/100 | C+ | +16.5 |
| 18 | Nevada | 60.7/100 | C+ | -8.9 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 59.9/100 | C | +14.7 |
| 20 | Alaska | 59.7/100 | C | +5.1 |
| 21 | West Virginia | 59.2/100 | C | +3.4 |
| 22 | Texas | 58.9/100 | C | +29.1 |
| 23 | Georgia | 58.6/100 | C | +14.0 |
| 24 | Michigan | 57.9/100 | C | +5.3 |
| 25 | Ohio | 57.5/100 | C | +8.3 |
| 26 | Alabama | 57.5/100 | C | +20.5 |
| 27 | Virginia | 57.1/100 | C | +0.7 |
| 28 | Maryland | 56.4/100 | C | +14.0 |
| 29 | South Carolina | 56.3/100 | C | +26.7 |
| 30 | New Mexico | 56.3/100 | C | -11.3 |
| 31 | Iowa | 55.9/100 | C | -3.3 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 55.7/100 | C | -8.1 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 55.6/100 | C | +2.4 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 55/100 | C | +14.2 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | 54.1/100 | C- | +8.1 |
| 36 | Colorado | 53.7/100 | C- | -5.1 |
| 37 | Connecticut | 53.5/100 | C- | -5.3 |
| 38 | Arkansas | 52.8/100 | C- | +15.0 |
| 39 | Louisiana | 52.5/100 | C- | +16.7 |
| 40 | Mississippi | 52.2/100 | C- | +17.2 |
| 41 | Washington | 51.6/100 | C- | +5.6 |
| 42 | Illinois | 50.3/100 | C- | +4.7 |
| 43 | Oregon | 50.1/100 | C- | +1.1 |
| 44 | Kentucky | 47.6/100 | D+ | +13.8 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 45.5/100 | D+ | +19.5 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 44.1/100 | D | -5.3 |
| 47 | California | 43.9/100 | D | -9.1 |
| 48 | Delaware | 43/100 | D | +15.8 |
| 49 | New York | 41.3/100 | D | +6.3 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 40.9/100 | D | +10.9 |