With California’s economy being larger than the individual economies of all but four countries (including the U.S.), the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst State Economies, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from change in GDP to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries.
| Best State Economies |
Worst State Economies |
| 1. Washington |
42. Kentucky |
| 2. Utah |
43. Arkansas |
| 3. California |
44. Maine |
| 4. Massachusetts |
45. Wyoming |
| 5. New Hampshire |
46. Mississippi |
| 6. Colorado |
47. Oklahoma |
| 7. North Carolina |
48. Hawaii |
| 8. Georgia |
49. Louisiana |
| 9. Oregon |
50. Alaska |
| 10. District of Columbia |
51. West Virginia |
Best vs. Worst
- Louisiana has the highest value of exports per capita, $16,469, which is 68.9 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest at $239.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of the population living in poverty, 7.4 percent, which is 2.6 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest at 19.60 percent.
- South Dakota has the lowest foreclosure rate, 0.0205 percent, which is 26.7 times lower than in Illinois, the state with the highest at 0.5479 percent.
- Massachusetts has the highest share of jobs in high-tech industries, 9.30 percent, which is 4.2 times higher than in Arkansas, the state with the lowest at 2.24 percent.
- Utah has the lowest unemployment rate, 2.10 percent, which is 2.7 times lower than in District of Columbia, the place with the highest at 5.60 percent.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-economies/21697
More from WalletHub
Expert Commentary
What are the most effective ways for state and local officials to help their local economies recover from the impact of the pandemic?
“One step is allowing/encouraging life to get fully back to normal. If local ordinances/policies targeting public health in a pandemic scenario were adopted during 2020 – I would suggest getting rid of them. The vaccines/boosters/treatments for Covid have clearly helped transform life back to normal. In my view, we are well past the point where the benefits of removing any restrictions on gatherings/travel outweigh the costs of removing those measures…A thoughtful complement to embracing this full return to normalcy would be continued support for subsidized vaccines/boosters – which should help maintain these more favorable conditions for public health and safety.”
Gregory S. Burge – Chair & Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma
“…Economic freedom (i.e., lower regulation, lower taxes and lower spending, safer property rights, freer trade)…not only minimizes downturns associated with exogenous shocks such as a pandemic, but it also accelerates recovery. Governments should look at policies that allow firms and families more flexibility in their decisions and this means stepping back. There is little that they can proactively do to stimulate recovery.”
Vincent J. Geloso – Assistant Professor, George Mason University
What can states do to prevent “brain drain” and develop, attract and retain highly skilled workers?
“Highly skilled workers value the same things we all do – communities that offer a high quality of living at a reasonable cost. They want their communities to have great schools, thriving employment opportunities, public safety, plus accessibility to get into the central city for a concert or out to a lake for a day on the water. States that want to retain their top talent – and attract others to migrate in – should work to improve their public education and health programming – and should provide business leaders opportunities to thrive. Providing high-quality infrastructure to serve both the private and public sector is also critical.”
Gregory S. Burge – Chair & Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma
“Deregulation, tax cuts, safer property rights, and smaller government tend to be associated with positive in-migration. The opposite is associated with out-migration – all else being equal.”
Vincent J. Geloso – Assistant Professor, George Mason University
“Consumer spending, unemployment rate, GDP, home sales, industrial production. However, it is important to think about what sectors of the economy will perform relatively well compared to the slowdown of national and global economic growth. States where the energy sector is important to employment and revenue, like North Dakota, Alaska, and Texas, may be in a relatively better-off position, for example.”
Robert Wyllie – Assistant Professor & Director of Political Economy Program, Ashland University
“I would like to give a nod to the power of innovation and the American Entrepreneurial spirit – so possibly start with something like patents per capita. Then, I am a big believer in the idea that a strong economy should work for everyone – including middle income and lower-income workers – so I would say you want a low (cost of living adjusted) poverty rate. After that, maybe something general like the ratio of income per capita to a broad-based cost-of-living index. All the best models I have seen suggest people/workers like to move to places where that ratio is high and tend to move away from places where that ratio is low. We could round it out with two broad social indicators that families & children are doing well – maybe the lowest rates of incarceration for youth and young adults as well as something like high school graduation rates?”
Gregory S. Burge – Chair & Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma
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