Perhaps you’ve experienced that easy feeling of crossing the border into Georgia on highways and interstates and noticing the roadway immediately seeming… smoother?  

A new state-by-state analysis of America’s infrastructure in what’s described as a post-pandemic world suggests there may be something to that.

As part of its 2022 Best and Worst States To Live In rankings, market research company Top Data drilled down to determine which states are excelling and lagging in terms of infrastructure development and upkeep, a key cog in the $23-trillion U.S. economy.

Georgia landed the No. 5 spot for states with the best infrastructure, joining five other Sunbelt states in the top 10, per the analysis.

Part of Top Data’s 2022 Best and Worst States to Live In rankings, as relates to infrastructure. Top Data

Top Data analyzed eight different metrics to gauge the quality of each state’s infrastructure today. Those factors included state budgets spent on road maintenance, the number of electrical claims, the amount of dams considered dangerous, internet speeds, airport quality, and general condition of roads and bridges.

Here’s a snapshot of what Top Data deems the 10 states with the best—and worst infrastructure:

1. Delaware; 2. Maryland; 3. Virginia; 4. Nevada; 5. Georgia; 6. Florida; 7. Alaska; 8. Tennessee; 9. Oregon; and 10. Colorado.

…
41. Louisiana; 42. Oklahoma; 43. Mississippi; 44. Connecticut; 45. New Mexico; 46. Arkansas; 47. Missouri; 48. Montana; 49. Maine; and 50. West Virginia.

Bridge overpasses under construction at the intersection of Ga. Highway 400 and Interstate 285 in July 2019. Shutterstock

None of that's to say the Peach State's infrastructure is perfect. 

Amid talks of federal infrastructure spending last year, a Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson told reporters the agency expects to benefit widely from federal spending, as it repairs almost 100 bridges annually, inspects more than 15,000 bridges, and maintains 6,870 state-owned bridges. Roughly 70 percent of Georgia bridges are consider in “good condition”—which is not to say they’re structurally deficient or unsafe, but that design standards have changed over the past three to five decades, as Augusta’s News Channel 6 reported.  

By Top Data’s estimation, however, Georgia scores as merely the—gasp!—35th best state in which to live overall, based on 76 different metrics.

On the bright side, the Peach State gets high marks for the economy (16th place), “opportunities” (10), and that apparently sterling infrastructure (5).

Georgia’s proverbial albatrosses are education (dismal 42nd place), healthcare (40), crime and safety (40), and affordability (36), according to Top Data.

Wyoming was ranked as the best state to live in overall.

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