Happy in the basement

A comprehensive new analysis of state-by-state performance ranks Louisiana at or near the bottom on nearly every metric that defines long-term quality of life. The same data shows residents are largely content living here anyway.

Why it matters: The gap between how Louisiana is doing and how Louisianans feel about it isn't just an interesting data point—it's the obstacle. You can't fix what people aren't demanding be fixed.

By the numbers: The State of the Nation Project, a bipartisan effort housed at Tulane University's Murphy Institute, scored all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 30 measures in 14 categories. Louisiana's results aren't close. The state ranks:

• 51st—dead last—in four workforce measures: employment-to-population ratio, labor force participation, young adults employed or in school, and hourly earnings growth.
• 50th in poverty, 50th in murder rate, 50th in children living with single parents and 50th in low birthweight babies.
• 49th in shootings, 48th in income inequality, 48th in years of education and 48th in air quality.
• Life expectancy ranks 46th. Volunteerism ranks 44th. Voter participation ranks 45th.

A giant but: Residents report relatively high satisfaction with their lives, ranking Louisiana in the top third of states on that measure.

The trend lines make it worse: Several categories aren't just bad—they're heading in the wrong direction faster than the rest of the country. Poverty is worsening while the U.S. has improved. Shootings are worsening while the U.S. has stabilized. Hourly earnings growth ranks last and is declining while the national trend improves.

The bottom line: Louisiana isn't just in the basement on key metrics; it's falling further behind a country that is itself struggling. Which makes the relative resident bliss with life here all the more interesting.