The following list indicates the weighting of the relevant variables that led to the rankings of states on this website. For more on these weightings, see the book Freedom in the Fifty States which may be downloaded here. You can also apply your own weights to these variables here.
- Dimension
- Category
Policy Variable
- Fiscal Policy: 29.5%-32.0%
- State Taxation: 13.4%
- Local Taxation: 78.6%-10.1%
- Government Subsidies: 2.3%
- Government debt: 2.1%
- Regulatory Policy: 38.7%
- Land Use Freedom: 10.5%
Local rent control: 6.0%
"Land-use" court mentions: 2.2%
Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index: 1.1%
Renewable portfolio standards: 1.0%
Regulatory taking compensation: 0.2%
Eminent domain reform index: 0.1%
Parking lot gun mandate: 0.01%
Mandated free speech on private property: <0.01% - Health insurance freedom: 7.4%
Community rating: small groups: 2.7%
Individual health insurance mandate: 2.7%
Health insurance mandates index: 2.4%
Individual guaranteed issue: 0.7%
Small-group rate review: 0.6%
Community rating: individuals: 0.5%
Mandated direct access to specialists: 0.4%
Individual rate review: 0.06%
Mandated standing referrals: 0.03%
Individual policies: elimination riders banned: 0.03%
Mandated external grievance review: 0.02%
Financial incentives to providers banned: 0.01%
“Mandate-light” or “mandate-free” policies: <0.01%
- Labor-market freedom: 5.7%
General right-to-work law: 2.8%
Short-term disability insurance: 1.0%
Workers’ compensation coverage regulations: 0.6%
Workers’ compensation funding regulations: 0.6%
Minimum wage: 0.5%
Employer verification of legal status: 0.2%
Employee anti-discrimination law: 0.01
Paid family leave: <0.01% - Occupational freedom: 4.5%
Employment-weighted licensure (extent): 1.2%
Nurse practitioner independence index: 0.9%
Summed education and experience requirements: 0.6%
Number of licensed occupations: 0.6%
Regulatory keywords in statutes: 0.6%
Summed exam requirements: 0.2%
Dental hygienist scope of practice: 0.1%
Summed fees for licensed occupations: 0.07%
Physician assistant prescribing authority: 0.05%
Sunrise commissions: 0.05%
Nurse Licensure Compact membership: 0.04%
Nursing consultation exception: 0.04%
Sunset review: 0.01%
- Lawsuit freedom: 3.7%
- Miscellaneous regulatory freedom: 2.9%
Certificate of need for hospitals: 0.9%
Rate filing requirements: personal auto insurance: 0.5%
Rate filing requirements: homeowner’s insurance: 0.3%
Anti-price-gouging laws: 0.2%
General sales-below-cost laws: 0.2%
Rate classification prohibitions: 0.2%
Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact: 0.2%
State form filing requirements for life insurance: 0.2%
Sales-below-cost law for gasoline: 0.1%
Direct auto sales: 0.1%
State rate filing requirement for workers’ compensation: 0.04%
Moving company entry regulation: 0.02%
Mandatory labeling law: 0.2%
- Cable and telecommunications: 1.1%
Telecom deregulation: 0.7% Statewide cable franchising: 0.4%
- Personal freedom: 29.4%
- Incarceration and arrests: 6.6%
Crime-adjusted incarceration rate: 4.2%
Drug enforcement rate: 1.4%
Arrests for nondrug victimless crimes, % of population: 0.5%
Arrests for nondrug victimless crimes, % of all arrests: 0.5%
- Marriage freedom: 4.0%
Same-sex partnerships laws: 2.2%
Super-DOMA: 1.0%
Sodomy laws: 0.4%
Cousin marriage: 0.4%
Covenant marriage: 0.1%
Blood test required: 0.01%
Total waiting period: 0.01%
- Education: 3.2%
Tax credit/deduction: 1.2%
Publicly funded voucher law: 0.7%
Private school teacher licensure: 0.6%
Private school approval requirement: 0.2%
Compulsory schooling years: 0.2%
Private school curriculum control: 0.2%
Public school choice: 0.1%
Homeschooling curriculum control: 0.04%
Homeschooling standardized testing: 0.03%
Homeschooling record-keeping requirements: 0.03%
Homeschooling notification requirements: 0.02%
Homeschooling teacher qualifications: 0.01%
Private school registration: <0.01%
Homeschool statute: <0.01% - Gun control: 3.2%
Local gun ban: 1.0%
Concealed-carry index: 0.4%
Initial permit cost: 0.4%
Firearms licensing index: 0.3%
Waiting period for purchases: 0.3%
Initial permit term: 0.2%
Stricter minimum age: 0.2%
Assault weapons ban: 0.1%
Open carry index: 0.05%
No duty to retreat: 0.05%
Any other weapon: 0.04%
Dealer licensing: 0.03%
Built-in locking devices: 0.03%
Nonpowder guns: 0.03%
Restrictions on multiple purchases: 0.03%
Background checks for private sales: 0.02%
Registration of firearms: 0.02%
Design safety standards: 0.01%
Machine guns: 0.01%
Ammo microstamping: 0.01%
Large-capacity magazine bans: 0.01%
Sound suppressor: <0.01%
Short-barreled shotguns: <0.01%
Short-barreled rifles: <0.01%
.50 caliber ban: <0.01% - Alcohol: 2.9%
Alcohol distribution index: 1.1%
Blue law index: 0.4%
Sales and grocery stores: 0.4%
Spirits taxes: 0.3%
Wine taxes: 0.2%
Beer taxes: 0.2%
Direct wine shipment ban: 0.2%
Keg regulations/ban: 0.1%
Happy hour ban: 0.03%
Mandatory server training: <0.01% - Marijuana Freedom: 2.1%
Medical marijuana index: 0.9%
Possession decriminalization: 0.6%
Marijuana misdemeanor index: 0.1%
Mandatory minimums: 0.1%
Some sales legal: 0.1%
Salvia ban: 0.1% - Gambling: 1.9%
Gaming revenues: 1.8%
Gambling felony: 0.02%
Social gambling: 0.02%
Internet gaming prohibition: <0.01% - Asset forfeiture: 1.8%
Asset forfeiture law: 0.9%
Equitable sharing: 0.9% - Tobacco 1.7%
Cigarette tax: 1.3%
Smoking ban, bars: 0.3%
Internet purchase regulations: 0.06%
Smoking ban, private workplaces: 0.03%
Smoking ban, restaurants: 0.03%
Vending machine regulations: 0.03% - Travel freedom: 1.4%
Automated license plate readers: 0.4%
Driver’s licenses without Social Security number: 0.3%
Sobriety checkpoints: 0.2%
Seat belt laws: 0.2%
Fingerprint for driver’s license: 0.1%
Uninsured/underinsured coverage requirement: 0.1%
Motorcycle helmet law: 0.1%
Open-container law: 0.01%
Cell phone ban: 0.01% - Mala prohibita and civil liberties: 0.5%
Prostitution legal: 0.2%
Trans-fat bans: 0.1%
Raw milk legal: 0.1%
Mixed martial arts legal: 0.1%
Fireworks laws: 0.05%
Physician-assisted suicide legal: 0.03%
Equal rights amendment: 0.02%
DNA database index: 0.01%
Religious Freedom Restoration Act: 0.01% - Campaign finance: 0.1%
Individual contributions to candidates: 0.03%
Individual contributions to parties: 0.02%
Grassroots PAC contributions to candidates: 0.02%
Grassroots PAC contributions to parties: 0.01%
Public financing: <0.01%
Note: Because of rounding, percentages listed do not sum to exactly 100. Because of how we weight the local taxation variable, the weights for the fiscal policy dimension range from 29.5 (New Jersey) to 32.0 (Hawaii). For more on this, see “Local Taxation” under “Fiscal Policy” in the first chapter.
