CNBC claims Texas is miserable. Texans want to keep it that way. | Opinion

Promise me you won't move to Texas after reading this.

No, really. I need you to promise, because some of you will want to. Shake off those feelings of freedom and affordability, gather your progressive senses and keep loathing God's country like you're told to, for reasons that don't make much sense, at least not to most conservatives.

Why the warning? CNBC just ranked Texas one of "America's 10 worst states to live in for 2026." I can't decide if I'm offended, surprised or relieved.

Funny thing: Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee sit at the top of the U-Haul Growth Index's list of states people are actually moving to.

Texas is apparently bad, based on cherry-picked parameters

CNBC weighted "quality of life" more heavily than usual in the latest rankings, now in its 20th year, as more states lean on livability to court businesses. Under the new methodology, quality of life makes up 11.6% of a state's overall score, built from crime rates, air quality, health care, childcare, inclusiveness of state laws and reproductive rights.

By that math, CNBC gave Texas a dismal score of 78 out of 290 points:

• Childcare and air quality were the only strengths.
• Health, crime, inclusiveness, worker protections and reproductive rights all landed in the weakness column.
• CNBC singled out the state's uninsured rate – 16.7% of Texans lack health coverage – as a particular black mark.

Tennessee fared the worst: 64 out of 290, with air quality its lone bright spot. Crime, inclusiveness and worker protections dragged it down.

CNBC even flagged Gov. Bill Lee's resolution designating June as "Nuclear Family Month," calling it an affront to the LGBTQ+ community because June is already Pride Month.

Unsurprisingly, all 10 states on the "worst" list are run by Republican governors.

People are voting with their moving trucks

I take umbrage with this ranking, and not just because I've called Texas home for years. The CNBC list's conclusions defy common sense and data in favor of politicized, wildly weighted parameters.

The list may count inclusivity as a quality-of-life essential. Most Americans don't, at least not CNBC's version ‒ which seems to mean state laws affirming gender ideology and expansive abortion access, not neighborliness.

The proof is in the numbers: Tennessee's population grew to more than 7.3 million in 2025, an increase of 63,785, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Texas grew even faster, adding 391,243 residents for a population of 31.7 million. People are voting with their moving trucks because both states are more affordable – neither has an income tax.

That affordability is exactly why CNBC also ranked Texas second among the nation's top 10 economies, along with California, ironically, third. Dozens of major companies have relocated to or expanded in Texas, drawn by its business-friendly laws.

California's presence on that list actually proves the point: It's an economic powerhouse that also checks every progressive box CNBC seems to love. And yet California keeps hemorrhaging residents ‒ with hundreds of thousands of Californians leaving annually because the cost of living is unsustainable, among myriad other problems.

But the "10 worst states" list misses a bigger point: The "quality of life" indicators CNBC counts aren't what most people actually want. They're progressive talking points dressed up as universal values.

Many Americans want to live in states with laws that protect women and the unborn, that don't penalize people for not having health insurance, and that don't push gender ideology on other people's kids in the classroom. That's not exclusion. In fact, to the people who live under these laws, it's just common sense.

Texas does have laws protecting women and girls, restricting abortion and limiting transgender medical interventions for minors. CNBC calls these weaknesses. Texans call them protective – and they align with what most Texans actually believe and want.

The legacy news media's representation of Texas is often skewed. World Cup fans visiting from across the globe fell in love with Texas' culture and people, because Texans were kind, friendly and hospitable.

Southern hospitality meeting Western grit, where respect is just how you treat people. Add in the affordability, the traditional values and no shortage of great companies to work for, and it's no wonder people keep coming.

But like I said, no matter how tempted you are to move to Texas now, resist the urge to join the thousands already doing it.

I hear it's one of the worst places to live.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNBC claims Texas is miserable. Texans want to keep it that way. | Opinion

Reporting by Nicole Russell, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 4:08 AM.