D.C. now freest state; Mississippi least free

With Labor Day looming, it's time for our annual ranking of the states that are the most economically fair.

There's been an almost imperceptible change in methodology since last year's ranking, but the rankings are still comparable. This freedom ranking ranks states on how fair they are to the working public based on an assortment of economic policies. It doesn't perfectly correspond to partisan preferences in national elections, though you will notice that Republican states generally perform worse on this list.

According to this list, the freest state isn't even a state! District of Columbia provides the most worker freedom - knocking Oregon off the top of last year's ranking. Mississippi is the most oppressed state - kicking Texas off last year's throne.

Some of you who live in states that score well on this list are probably asking how your state ranks so high. I can guarantee you, however, that there's oodles of states worse than yours.

This year's rankings...

1. District of Columbia
2. Delaware; Montana (tie)
4. Oregon
5. New Mexico
6. New York
7. Missouri
8. Massachusetts
9. Illinois
10. Wisconsin
11. Ohio
12. Washington
13. Kentucky; Maryland; West Virginia (tie)
16. Connecticut
17. Colorado
18. Vermont
19. New Hampshire
20. Michigan
21. California
22. Maine
23. Pennsylvania
24. Hawaii
25. Rhode Island
26. Alaska
27. Minnesota
28. New Jersey
29. Indiana
30. Oklahoma
31. Kansas
32. North Carolina
33. Arkansas; Iowa (tie)
35. Wyoming
36. Alabama; Georgia; Louisiana; Virginia (tie)
40. North Dakota
41. Nebraska
42. Idaho; South Carolina (tie)
43. Arizona
44. Tennessee
45. Nevada
46. Utah
47. South Dakota
48. Florida
49. Texas
50. Mississippi

To quote Casey Kasem: And there ya have 'em!