State scorecard
Illinois in the US Political Rank
Every place Illinois holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#10
of 50 on States Ranked by K-12 Education Outcomes
#49
of 20 on States Ranked by Fiscal Health: Reserves, Pensions, and What They Owe
30%
Governor JB Pritzker performance score, rank 47 of 50
9
state rankings that score Illinois
Governor
Illinois's governor, JB Pritzker (Democrat), holds performance rank 47 of 50 at 30% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | Illinois's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesOne of only five states in the eighth grade reading top ten on both the raw and demographically adjusted 2024 rankings (Urban Institute, 2025). | #10 of 50 | 90.7 |
| The Top 20 Energy-Producing StatesGenerates more nuclear electricity than any other state from 11 reactors, supplemented by coal and one of the largest ethanol industries (EIA). | #12 of 20 | 8.5 |
| States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate289.2 per 100,000 with a murder rate of 5.8, a statewide rate below the national average despite concentrated violence in parts of Chicago (FBI, 2024). | #21 of 50 | 289.2 |
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesRanked 27th on the Commonwealth Fund's 2025 Scorecard including the District of Columbia, with a below-average uninsured rate after expanding Medicaid (Commonwealth Fund, 2025; Census ACS, 2023). | #23 of 50 | 78.8 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyHigh incomes and a large tax base keep the per-capita balance of payments below the national average despite substantial federal spending (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | #40 of 50 | 52.5 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026Among the states where unemployment rose over the year ending May 2026 (BLS, 2026), extending net domestic out-migration that has run for more than a decade (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). | #41 of 50 | 61.2 |
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenThe income tax is flat, but property taxes are among the highest in America and the total burden lands in the nation's top ten (Tax Foundation, 2022). | #44 of 50 | 41.0 |
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthA top-tier domestic migration loser again in the Vintage 2025 estimates, extending a streak of annual net losses that spans more than a decade (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). | #48 of 50 | 26.5 |
| States Ranked by Fiscal Health: Reserves, Pensions, and What They OwePensions funded at roughly 52 percent, with unfunded liabilities exceeding $211 billion by the state's own plan accounting (Equable Institute, 2025), and the lowest credit rating of any state despite ten upgrades since 2019 (S&P Global Ratings; Moody's). | #49 of 20 | 31.8 |
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