It's famous for its breathtaking vistas, exciting ski runs, and as the Mormon headquarters.
But in a surprising turnaround, Utah now ranks also as America's best state to live.
That's according to ConsumerAffairs, a data and review platform, which studied each state's economy, education and healthcare systems, quality of life, safety, and affordability.
New Hampshire, Idaho, Minnesota, and Massachusetts rounded out the top five.
For those planning to relocate, researchers also assessed which states to avoid.
California ranked at the bottom of the scale thanks to is poor scores in education, health, quality of life, and safety.
The Golden State was followed at the bottom of the table by New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alaska.
Cassidy McCants, a researcher, said 'Utah should get top consideration as a new home.'
'It finished first in affordability, third in economy and third in quality of life,' McCants added.
The Beehive State's roughly 3.4 million people have easy access to pine forests, ski runs and the so-called 'Mighty Five' National Parks — Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion.
But they also get to live in one of the most affordable parts of the United States, says the report.
That's because Utah has relatively low property taxes, even as households receive a relatively high average income of about $80,000.
Though the state is home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the share of practicing Mormons has dropped to about four-in-ten nowadays.
Utah is also famous for local foods — especially honey, cheese, raspberries, the state's own version of scones, and plentiful dipping sauces for fries.
Utah was closely followed by New Hampshire, which ranked high thanks to its strong economy, good education and health systems, and safety.
Residents there enjoy among the lowest rates of crime and poverty in the country.
In third place was Idaho, which McCants says is 'generating interest' from residents elsewhere who are considering a move.
'Idaho has the highest possible score for health care quality … low crime rates, and the least property crime in the US,' she added.
The study used data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Tax Foundation, and Zillow.
Meanwhile, researchers at the real estate technology company ProptechOS 2024 have made their open assessment of America's 'smartest, tech-friendly cities'.
Seattle, Washington, reigned at number one, followed by Miami, Florida, and Austin, Texas.
The cities were ranked on their tech infrastructure and connectivity, sustainability, and the tech job market, and how prepared they are for a smarter future, researchers said.
Seattle — home to tech titans Amazon and Microsoft — garnered a winning overall score 75.7 out of 100, as best prepared for a smarter future.
The Emerald city has a robust tech infrastructure with 34 artificial intelligence (AI) companies and 13 Internet of Things (IoT) per 100,000 people.
They were also noted for sustainability, as their tree coverage increased over a decade — 2010 to 2020 — to a stunning 137,000 hectares — roughly 340,000 acres.
They also built the equivalent of 10 electric vehicle recharging points per 100,000 people, as per the report.
Next up was Miami 75.4, Austin 72.7 followed by San Jose 71.6 and Oakland 70.8; Boston, 70.2; San Francisco, 69.5; New York City; 65.5, Los Angeles 65.2 and Atlanta 64.3.
Last year, Austin, Texas took the number one slot as smartest city in the U.S, but were beat out this year by Seattle by just a few mere points.
Even so, the Texan city still took the number one for smart city infrastructure, scoring 86.2 out of 100, in the 2024 study (Seattle came in a close second with 85.7).
This ranking was attributed to its high broadband download speed of 275.60 Mbps — exceeding the U.S. average of 217.14 Mbps — and its concentration of 337 AI companies, or 35 per 100,000 people.
