SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – A recent study has ranked the Beehive State as the number one state for students in the United States for 2021.

According to a study conducted by Studee, Utah was ranked the number one state for college students based on the following criteria:

  • Number of high ranking colleges
  • Cost of tuition
  • Rent costs
  • Board costs
  • Percent of state population of people ages 19 to 25
  • Average happiness
  • Crime rate
  • Average income
  • Number of clear weather days

According to data collected by Studee, Utah has lower than average tuition costs at $6,731 and boasts the highest percentage of 19-25-year-olds among state populations with 10.9% of the state’s population being between ages 19 to 25.

Studee found that the average housing fee for college students in Utah is $3,554, the lowest average cost out of any state in the country. Board costs for Utah students are also rather low, with the average cost being $4,104, Studee found.

Studee also took each state’s overall “happiness level” into account. Each state’s happiness was measured in a study by WalletHub, which “examined the 50 states across 32 key metrics, ranging from the depression rate and the positive COVID-19 testing rate to income growth and the unemployment rate. “

Using the data collected in the study by WalletHub, Utah was found to be the second happiest state in the US, with a happiness index score of 67.84. Only Hawaii had a higher score of 68.27.

Each state’s crime rate was determined by measuring the rates of violent crimes per 1,000 people. According to data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2019, which was the most recent update to the data, there were 235.6 violent crimes reported per 100,000 people among Utah’s population

Utah was also found to have an average income of $48,939, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis

The Beehive State was also found to have 125 clear weather days per year. This study defined a “clear day” as a day when “when cloud covers at most 30% of the sky in daylight hours.”

Studee also noted that Utah having 5 National Parks also makes it a great place for college students to go for a weekend to relax from the stress of schoolwork