You Betcha: North Dakota Ranked “Best Run State”

Many people like North Dakota for many different reasons whether it’s the sunsets, going to bison football games or hunting.

North Dakotans are saying, “you betcha'” to the state being ranked the best–run state in the country.

For the past six years, a financial news and opinion company, 24/7 Wall St., has been conducting survey’s to determine the management quality of America’s 50 states.

Data on financial health, government services and standard of living are used to see how well each state is run.

While North Dakota may get low temperatures, one survey ranks it highest for being the best run state.

Stacey Sell knows her fashion.

And when it came to opening Charmed Boutique with her business partner, she knew North Dakota would be a good place to have customers check out.

“Our experience with working with the state of North Dakota with our small business has been really good,” said Sell.

Business may be good in North Dakota because the state enjoys the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 2.8%.

The oil and mining industry have also helped boom economic growth.

“It’s good to be us that’s my motto. North Dakota has a dynamic economy for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is we have great natural resources under the ground and on top of the ground,” said North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer.

While North Dakota’s economy has seen rapid growth, the total number of mining jobs has dropped 17.2% over the past year.

“Governments realized that we have to move beyond agriculture. We have to move into other fields, and we have to keep that growing and I think North Dakota has been doing that,” said West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern.

While the resources may be natural, Stacey says so is people’s genuine kindness in the state.

“It sounds like a cliché because it’s always North Dakota Nice or Minnesota Nice, but it is the truth and it’s a great place to live and raise a family,” she said.

While some families may only know of North Dakota from movies like Fargo, others will see if the “North Dakota Nice” ranking will hold up when next year’s results come out.

The survey puts Minnesota as the fifth best–run state, as it has the eighth lowest unemployment rate in the country.

24/7 Wall St. ranks New Mexico as the worst run state due to its social and economic outcomes.