Oklahoma near bottom of 'livable' list

NewsOK reports that the Morgan Quitno Press ranked Oklahoma the 43rd most livable state, down three spots from last year it it's
Livable State Award. We scored a 20.37 compared to the top ranked New Hampshire which scored 35.45, or the lowest ranked Mississippi which scored 16.11, according to 44 Positive and Negative categories listed here.

Oklahoma placed low in several categories:

• Fourth highest prison incarceration rate.
• Fourth highest percent of population without health insurance.
• Fifth lowest per capita gross state product.

The state placed higher in other areas:

• Fifth lowest state and local government outstanding debt per capita.
• Ninth most number of sunny days.
• 12th highest in legislative appropriations to art agencies per capita.

In another report released Monday, Oklahoma was ranked the 14th most dangerous state. States were ranked based on the number of serious crimes committed in 2003 per 100,000 residents.

The Morgan Quitno Press also named Oklahoma the 46th healthiest state. But the state did well in other categories, such as a low percentage of people with AIDS (No. 18) and adult binge drinkers (No. 11).