Red state governors blast CNBC's 'worst states to live' list, point to booming population growth

Republican governors are firing back at CNBC after the financial news outlet released its annual quality-of-life rankings, which placed conservative red states in all the bottom-10 spots on the list, even as official U.S. Census data shows those very states are leading the nation in population growth.

CNBC faced a wave of online mockery and conservative backlash Monday following the release of its 2026 "America’s Top States for Business" study. Critics quickly took to social media to call out the outlet, alleging a blatant liberal bias embedded in its ranking criteria, which heavily penalize conservative legislation.

"Somebody must have forgotten to tell the tens of thousands of new Arkansans who have moved to our state in the last few years about this CNBC report, because they’re voting with their feet and voting overwhelmingly for the commonsense, conservative leadership Arkansas offers," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News Digital.

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Counting down from the tenth-worst quality-of-life ranking to the absolute worst, CNBC ranked the bottom ten states as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. All ten states are Republican-led and voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.

The list is a subset of CNBC’s broader business study, which is now in its 20th year.

"CNBC is placing increasing emphasis on Quality of Life, one of the 10 categories of competitiveness in our annual America’s Top States for Business study," CNBC's report states. Under this year's methodology, the "Life, Health and Inclusion" category makes up 11.6% of a state’s overall score, up from about 10% last year.

To determine the rankings, CNBC said it utilizes "hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare." However, the metric also factors heavily in ideological policies, explicitly penalizing states for a lack of protections against discrimination and restrictive abortion laws.

"Some states offer exemplary quality of life. But these ten states do not make the grade," the CNBC report stated.

A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News Digital that CNBC’s list "does not reflect reality."

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"CNBC’s ranking is flawed and does not reflect reality. Texas’ low taxes, strong economy, abundant energy, and commitment to freedom deliver the quality of life and opportunity that millions of Americans choose every year," said Andrew Mahaleris, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's press secretary. "Governor Abbott will continue to work to keep Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family."

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office also dismissed the rankings as "baseless" and politically driven.

"As was made clear by the baseless ‘qualifications’ they used for their report, CNBC has prioritized trendy politics over affordability and the issues that actually matter to real Americans," a spokesperson for Kemp's office told Fox News Digital.

Kemp's office added: "Instead of publishing these laughable rankings that no one believes, CNBC should talk to any of the more than 500,000 Americans who have moved to Georgia in the last five years — many of them no doubt fleeing Democrat-run states like New York and California for a red state run by common sense and fiscal responsibility."

AMERICANS KEEP MOVING TO TEXAS AND FLORIDA — BUT ONE OTHER RED STATE IS GROWING EVEN FASTER

In its report, the media outlet took direct shots at local conservative legislation across the board.

Tennessee, which was crowned the single worst state to live in, was dinged for the state's "bathroom law" — which requires transgender individuals to use facilities corresponding with their biological sex at birth — as well as a law barring localities from passing their own local antidiscrimination ordinances. The outlet also took aim at a joint resolution signed by Gov. Bill Lee designating June as "Nuclear Family Month," while also noting the state's high rate of drug deaths.

Utah, ranked sixth-worst, was hit for its $7.25 minimum wage, low availability of childcare providers, and air quality. Georgia, the fifth-worst, was explicitly called out for offering "few protections for LGBTQ+ people."

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office immediately seized on the study, taking to X to point out the partisan split.

"Notice something in common?" the governor's office posted. "All led by Republicans — many suffering from California Derangement Syndrome."

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However, official population shifts highlight a broader, post-pandemic exodus from historically blue strongholds toward the very red states criticized by CNBC. While regions across the South and Sun Belt experience economic and population booms, major progressive hubs continue to bleed residents.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Texas gained a net of over 67,000 residents through domestic migration alone between mid-2024 and mid-2025, while Tennessee added over 42,000 and Alabama picked up more than 23,000.

By contrast, Los Angeles County watched its population shrink by more than 53,000 residents over the same one-year stretch— the largest numeric decline of any county in the nation. Similarly, a recent study by the Citizens Budget Commission confirmed that New York City lost a net of 114,000 residents to domestic outmigration over that period.

Fox News Digital reached out to CNBC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.