Iowa Was Ranked the #1 State in the U.S., but They Forgot 3 Important Reasons Why

According to a recent report from U.S. News & World, Iowa was ranked No. 1 in the country in its Best States rankings released Tuesday – which rates all 50 states across a range of specific criteria.

This year, Des Moines Register says the rankings were evaluated and based on eight categories. Those categories included:

• Health care
• Education
• Economy 
• Opportunity
• Infrastructure
• Crime
• Fiscal Stability
• Quality of Life

However, we can think of three other reasons missing from the list that could also contribute to Iowa being named No. 1:

Don’t forget about the . . .

• Giant Whitetails
• Severely limited nonresident deer tags, and
• A liberal bag limit for resident deer hunters

Need we say more?

As deer hunters, we just can’t help but have this kind of mindset. There are certain states that automatically make us dream of big bucks, and Iowa certainly ranks high on top of that list.

According to Des Moines Register, here are the states that made the top 10:

1. Iowa
2. Minnesota 
3. Utah
4. North Dakota
5. New Hampshire
6. Washington
7. Nebraska
8. Massachusetts
9. Vermont
10. Colorado

And rounding out the bottom of the list:

1. Kentucky
2. South Carolina
3. Oklahoma
4. Alaska
5. Alabama
6. West Virginia
7. New Mexico
8. Mississippi
9. Louisiana

Now, tell us what your list of “top 10 states for big bucks” would look like. 

OutdoorHub Reporters

The OutdoorHub Reporters are a team of talented journalists and outdoorsmen and women who work around the clock to follow and report on the biggest stories in the outdoors.