The freest jurisdiction overall in the report’s ratings is the U.S. state of New Hampshire, closely followed by South Dakota and Idaho, which are tied for second place. It’s worth noting that the Cato Institute’s separate Freedom In the 50 States index of personal and economic freedom also ranks New Hampshire as the economically freest state and puts South Dakota in third place. But in the Cato measure Florida is ranked second (sixth place in the EFNA report) with Idaho in the seventh spot. The five lowest ranked U.S. states in descending order (worst is last), according to the Cato index are New Jersey, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and New York. The EFNA report ranks those states as 46, 32, 44, 52, and 49, respectively. So, while some variability is to be expected depending on differences in methodology, there’s broad general agreement across similar efforts to measure economic freedom. Free states are honoured for leaving people alone, and unfree states are called out for their restrictions and high taxes.