diff --git a/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts b/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
index 2295a8f943..6f7500bb86 100644
--- a/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-common/src/config.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export async function loadBackendConfig() {
   const paths = findPaths(__dirname);
   const configs = await loadConfig({
     env: process.env.NODE_ENV,
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
     shouldReadSecrets: true,
   });
   return configs;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
index 12ea362063..21d6924b15 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { buildBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
   const appConfigs = await loadConfig({
     env: 'production',
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
   });
   await buildBundle({
     entry: 'src/index',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
index b372663f09..a04e73dceb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { serveBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
   const appConfigs = await loadConfig({
     env: 'development',
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
   });
   const waitForExit = await serveBundle({
     entry: 'src/index',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
index cbea2c60cc..91c08af201 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/backend/dev.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { serveBackend } from '../../lib/bundler/backend';
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
   const appConfigs = await loadConfig({
     env: 'development',
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
   });
   const waitForExit = await serveBackend({
     entry: 'src/index',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
index 6de3e14c59..8f3c132285 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/export.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { buildBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
   const appConfigs = await loadConfig({
     env: 'production',
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
   });
   await buildBundle({
     entry: 'dev/index',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
index c23ae060aa..a677bec918 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/plugin/serve.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import { serveBundle } from '../../lib/bundler';
 export default async (cmd: Command) => {
   const appConfigs = await loadConfig({
     env: 'development',
-    rootPaths: [paths.targetDir, paths.targetRoot],
+    rootPaths: [paths.targetRoot, paths.targetDir],
   });
   const waitForExit = await serveBundle({
     entry: 'dev/index',
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.test.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.test.ts
index 78e869e612..c804a6cef3 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.test.ts
+++ b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.test.ts
@@ -57,16 +57,16 @@ describe('resolveStaticConfig', () => {
     const resolved = await resolveStaticConfig({
       env: 'development',
       rootPaths: [
+        '/repo',
+        '/other-repo',
         '/repo/packages/a',
         '/repo/packages/b',
-        '/other-repo',
-        '/repo',
       ],
     });
 
     expect(resolved).toEqual([
-      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.yaml',
       '/repo/app-config.yaml',
+      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.yaml',
     ]);
     expect(pathExists).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(16);
   });
@@ -85,15 +85,15 @@ describe('resolveStaticConfig', () => {
     );
     const resolved = await resolveStaticConfig({
       env: 'development',
-      rootPaths: ['/repo/packages/a', '/repo'],
+      rootPaths: ['/repo', '/repo/packages/a'],
     });
 
     expect(resolved).toEqual([
-      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.development.yaml',
-      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.local.yaml',
-      '/repo/app-config.development.local.yaml',
-      '/repo/app-config.local.yaml',
       '/repo/app-config.yaml',
+      '/repo/app-config.local.yaml',
+      '/repo/app-config.development.local.yaml',
+      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.local.yaml',
+      '/repo/packages/a/app-config.development.yaml',
     ]);
     expect(pathExists).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(8);
   });
@@ -106,10 +106,10 @@ describe('resolveStaticConfig', () => {
     });
 
     expect(resolved).toEqual([
-      '/repo/app-config.production.local.yaml',
-      '/repo/app-config.production.yaml',
-      '/repo/app-config.local.yaml',
       '/repo/app-config.yaml',
+      '/repo/app-config.local.yaml',
+      '/repo/app-config.production.yaml',
+      '/repo/app-config.production.local.yaml',
     ]);
     expect(pathExists).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(4);
   });
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
index 2ee200fbd0..44f0f6ea9e 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
+++ b/packages/config-loader/src/lib/resolver.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { resolve as resolvePath } from 'path';
 import { pathExists } from 'fs-extra';
 
 type ResolveOptions = {
-  // Root paths to search for config files. Config from earlier paths has higher priority.
+  // Root paths to search for config files. Config from earlier paths has lower priority.
   rootPaths: string[];
   // The environment that we're loading config for, e.g. 'development', 'production'.
   env: string;
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@ export async function resolveStaticConfig(
   options: ResolveOptions,
 ): Promise<string[]> {
   const filePaths = [
-    `app-config.${options.env}.local.yaml`,
-    `app-config.${options.env}.yaml`,
-    `app-config.local.yaml`,
     `app-config.yaml`,
+    `app-config.local.yaml`,
+    `app-config.${options.env}.yaml`,
+    `app-config.${options.env}.local.yaml`,
   ];
 
   const resolvedPaths = [];
diff --git a/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts b/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
index 27df7ac831..0cc8ac29f5 100644
--- a/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
+++ b/packages/config-loader/src/loader.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import {
 } from './lib';
 
 export type LoadConfigOptions = {
-  // Root paths to search for config files. Config from earlier paths has higher priority.
+  // Root paths to search for config files. Config from earlier paths has lower priority.
   rootPaths: string[];
 
   // The environment that we're loading config for, e.g. 'development', 'production'.
@@ -66,8 +66,6 @@ export async function loadConfig(
 ): Promise<AppConfig[]> {
   const configs = [];
 
-  configs.push(...readEnv(process.env));
-
   const configPaths = await resolveStaticConfig(options);
 
   try {
@@ -89,5 +87,7 @@ export async function loadConfig(
     );
   }
 
+  configs.push(...readEnv(process.env));
+
   return configs;
 }
diff --git a/packages/config/src/reader.test.ts b/packages/config/src/reader.test.ts
index 9d06e0b025..9cfc1d7f34 100644
--- a/packages/config/src/reader.test.ts
+++ b/packages/config/src/reader.test.ts
@@ -214,9 +214,19 @@ describe('ConfigReader with fallback', () => {
     const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs([
       {
         data: {
+          a: true,
+          b: true,
           c: true,
+          nested1: {
+            a: true,
+            b: true,
+          },
+          badBefore: {
+            a: true,
+          },
+          badAfter: true,
         },
-        context: 'x',
+        context: 'z',
       },
       {
         data: {
@@ -234,19 +244,9 @@ describe('ConfigReader with fallback', () => {
       },
       {
         data: {
-          a: true,
-          b: true,
           c: true,
-          nested1: {
-            a: true,
-            b: true,
-          },
-          badBefore: {
-            a: true,
-          },
-          badAfter: true,
         },
-        context: 'z',
+        context: 'x',
       },
     ]);
 
@@ -427,42 +427,42 @@ describe('ConfigReader.get()', () => {
   });
 
   it('should merge in fallback configs', () => {
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('a')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('a')).toEqual(
       {
         x: 'x1',
         y: ['y11', 'y12', 'y13'],
         z: false,
       },
     );
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('b')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('b')).toEqual(
       {
         x: 'x1',
         y: ['y11'],
         z: 'z2',
       },
     );
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('c')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('c')).toEqual(
       {
         c1: {
           c2: 'c2',
         },
       },
     );
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('a')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('a')).toEqual(
       {
         x: 'x1',
         y: ['y11', 'y12', 'y13'],
         z: false,
       },
     );
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('b')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('b')).toEqual(
       {
         x: 'x1',
         y: ['y11'],
         z: 'z2',
       },
     );
-    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[0], configs[1]]).get('c')).toEqual(
+    expect(ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[0]]).get('c')).toEqual(
       {
         c1: {
           c2: 'c2',
@@ -471,14 +471,14 @@ describe('ConfigReader.get()', () => {
     );
 
     expect(
-      ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[2], configs[1]]).getOptional('b'),
+      ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[2]]).getOptional('b'),
     ).toEqual({
       x: 'x2',
       y: ['y21', 'y22'],
       z: 'z2',
     });
     expect(
-      ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[2], configs[1]]).getOptional('c'),
+      ConfigReader.fromConfigs([configs[1], configs[2]]).getOptional('c'),
     ).toEqual({
       c1: 'c1',
     });
@@ -486,23 +486,6 @@ describe('ConfigReader.get()', () => {
 
   it('should not merge non-objects', () => {
     const config = ConfigReader.fromConfigs([
-      {
-        data: {
-          a: ['1', '2'],
-          c: [],
-          d: {
-            x: 'x',
-          },
-          e: ['3'],
-          f: 'foo',
-          g: { z: 'z' },
-          h: {
-            a: 'a1',
-            c: 'c1',
-          },
-        },
-        context: '1',
-      },
       {
         data: {
           a: ['x', 'y', 'z'],
@@ -521,6 +504,23 @@ describe('ConfigReader.get()', () => {
         },
         context: '2',
       },
+      {
+        data: {
+          a: ['1', '2'],
+          c: [],
+          d: {
+            x: 'x',
+          },
+          e: ['3'],
+          f: 'foo',
+          g: { z: 'z' },
+          h: {
+            a: 'a1',
+            c: 'c1',
+          },
+        },
+        context: '1',
+      },
     ]);
     expect(config.get('a')).toEqual(['1', '2']);
     expect(config.get('b')).toEqual(['1']);
diff --git a/packages/config/src/reader.ts b/packages/config/src/reader.ts
index 0669bcb6d8..86fb125a47 100644
--- a/packages/config/src/reader.ts
+++ b/packages/config/src/reader.ts
@@ -57,14 +57,11 @@ export class ConfigReader implements Config {
       return new ConfigReader(undefined);
     }
 
-    // Merge together all configs info a single config with recursive fallback
-    // readers, giving the first config object in the array the highest priority.
-    return configs.reduceRight<ConfigReader>(
-      (previousReader, { data, context }) => {
-        return new ConfigReader(data, context, previousReader);
-      },
-      undefined!,
-    );
+    // Merge together all configs into a single config with recursive fallback
+    // readers, giving the first config object in the array the lowest priority.
+    return configs.reduce<ConfigReader>((previousReader, { data, context }) => {
+      return new ConfigReader(data, context, previousReader);
+    }, undefined!);
   }
 
   constructor(
diff --git a/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.test.tsx b/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.test.tsx
index 0a3756ad92..33623b4869 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.test.tsx
@@ -49,9 +49,9 @@ describe('defaultConfigLoader', () => {
       '{"my":"runtime-config"}',
     );
     expect(configs).toEqual([
-      { data: { my: 'runtime-config' }, context: 'env' },
       { data: { my: 'override-config' }, context: 'a' },
       { data: { my: 'config' }, context: 'b' },
+      { data: { my: 'runtime-config' }, context: 'env' },
     ]);
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.tsx b/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.tsx
index 60c69d01c5..9d2096cfff 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.tsx
+++ b/packages/core/src/api-wrappers/createApp.tsx
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export const defaultConfigLoader: AppConfigLoader = async (
   if (runtimeConfigJson !== '__app_injected_runtime_config__'.toUpperCase()) {
     try {
       const data = JSON.parse(runtimeConfigJson) as JsonObject;
-      configs.unshift({ data, context: 'env' });
+      configs.push({ data, context: 'env' });
     } catch (error) {
       throw new Error(`Failed to load runtime configuration, ${error}`);
     }