The best state economies are friendly to new businesses and invest in technologies that help them deal with future challenges and become more efficient, according to a recent report by WalletHub, a personal finance website.
“Factors like a low unemployment rate and high average income help residents purchase property, pay down debt and save for the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement.
The worst state economies come up short in many of these areas.
To determine the best and worst state economies, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across these key dimensions:
- Economic activity, including change in GDP (2024 vs. 2023), share of fast-growing firms, exports per capita and startup activity
- Economic health, including unemployment rate, cost-of-living-adjusted median household income, foreclosure rate, share of population in poverty and fiscal health
- Innovation potential, including share of jobs in STEM employment, industry R&D investment amount per total civilian employed population, independent inventor patents per 1,000 working-age population and entrepreneurial activity
Researchers evaluated those dimensions using 28 relevant metrics and graded each one on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest economic performance.
See the accompanying gallery for the 12 states with the worst economies.
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