Is Massachusetts really the second-best state to live in?
A new study rated Mass. the second best state to live in. Massachusetts is the second-best place to live in the U.S., according to WalletHub. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff  Youve got to hand it to the folks over at WalletHub. The personal finance website doesnt go around just declaring things willy nilly  theyre up to their ears in data points over there. Their latest study, for instance, calculated 52 key indicators of livability in determining the best U.S. states to live in. And its hard to argue with the results, at least if youre a fan of Massachusetts: The Bay State finished second in their poll, topping the list for Percentage of Insured Population (not a sexy stat, but very responsible), and finishing in the top five for such factors as Highest Income Growth and Lowest Average Weekly Working Hours (really?). Maybe more of a surprise than that Mass. finished above such high-profile states as New York (third), Pennsylvania (10th), Florida (14th), and Texas (33rd), though, is that it finished below the state in the top slot  namely one of Americas perennial punching bags, New Jersey. Oddly, Jersey didnt finish in the top 5 of any of the featured key metrics cited by WalletHub, with the exception of Lowest Crime Rate, which were thinking cant be right, because Sopranos. But apparently its cumulative scores were enough to inch past Mass., with a 63.01 total score, as compared to our 62.6. (Of course, the press release only highlighted nine of the 52 key indicators, and were presuming that among the unlisted categories was Bruce Springsteen.)  Advertisement:  As for the rest of New England, New Hampshire ranked eighth, Vermont 11th, Maine 19th, Connecticut 22nd, and Rhode Island 36th. (Poor Rhode Island. They should have never let the PawSox leave.) Take the Boston.com poll below, or e-mail [email protected], and well feature your responses in a future article.