Iowa's quality of life ranks 18th in the U.S.

Driving the news: The Post took numbers from a study published in the International Economic review that tries to answer the question:

• "If you could choose what state you were born into, but not your race, gender, income or education, which state would be most likely to give you the best life?"
• The study examines living standards in each state based on life expectancy, education, cost-of-living-adjusted spending, hours worked and inequality. The data comes from 2013-17.

By the number: Iowa ranks 18th in its "well-being rank."

• The average household income here is around $49,000, while spending is around $38,000.
• The state's average life expectancy is 79.3 years old and 37% of people ages 25-29 have a college degree.
• The average amount of annual hours worked is 1,055 hours.

Yes, but: All our neighboring states are outperforming us, except for Missouri

• Minnesota, which is the second-ranked state in the U.S., has a higher income ($51.3K) and comparable spending ($41.8) to Iowa.
• But the life expectancy is higher at 80.7 years and college-educated young adults are near 44%.