Washington's economy ranks first in nationwide report

In a nationwide report on state economies, Washington ranks first out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Visual Capitalist recently created an infographic comparing state economies based on a 2017 study from WalletHub. The study ranks the economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential of each individual state. Overall, the evaluation includes 27 metrics from agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to inform its rankings.

In terms of economic activity, Washington ranks #1 in the United States. Economic activity includes measurements of GDP growth, exports per capita, and startup activity in the state. According to the report, Washington’s first ranking is driven by productivity from Boeing, Amazon, and Microsoft.

For economic health, which includes measurements of unemployment rates, median household income, share of population living in poverty, and education, Washington ranks 4^th. Washington also sits at #3 in terms of innovation potential which includes the number of jobs in STEM and high-tech industries, inventor patents, and the amount of R&D investment.

Washington ranks first in terms of highest GDP growth and most exports per capita, and ranks in the top five for highest change in nonfarm payrolls, and highest percent of jobs in the high-tech industry.

Other top-ranking states include California, Utah, and Massachusetts. Ranking at the bottom are Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia.

You can explore the ranking of every state in terms of their economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential below:

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Economic Activity Rank	Economic Health Rank	Innovation Potential Rank
1	Washington	76.54	1	4	3
2	California	73.78	2	26	2
3	Utah	73.77	5	1	4
4	Massachusetts	73.34	4	29	1
5	District of Columbia	67.09	3	6	13
6	Colorado	66.37	15	3	5
7	Oregon	65.65	6	9	10
8	New Hampshire	62.52	17	10	7
9	Maryland	60.97	18	28	6
10	Delaware	59.82	10	20	15
11	Idaho	58.2	21	2	19
12	Michigan	57.86	23	33	8
13	Virginia	57.51	9	18	23
14	Arizona	57.35	16	24	14
15	North Carolina	57.34	24	11	12
16	Connecticut	57.25	12	45	9
17	Minnesota	56.56	20	16	17
18	Georgia	55.99	8	21	29
19	New York	55.66	7	44	18
20	Texas	55.4	19	15	21
21	New Jersey	55.13	11	47	11
22	Florida	54.48	13	12	30
23	Missouri	50.17	34	19	24
24	South Carolina	49.78	14	23	41
25	Wisconsin	49.16	33	14	31
26	Vermont	49.1	35	31	22
27	Nebraska	49	36	7	34
28	Indiana	48.89	26	25	35
29	Nevada	48.11	22	27	40
30	Pennsylvania	47.73	25	41	27
31	Montana	47.66	46	13	25
32	South Dakota	47.09	39	5	39
33	Iowa	47.01	31	22	37
34	Illinois	46.93	27	43	26
35	Tennessee	46.4	29	17	44
36	Rhode Island	46.02	40	40	20
37	Ohio	45.67	30	42	28
38	Kansas	44.25	43	34	32
39	Hawaii	43.71	38	30	38
40	New Mexico	42.08	44	51	16
41	Alabama	41.58	32	38	43
42	North Dakota	41.11	51	8	36
43	Wyoming	39.4	47	32	45
44	Kentucky	38.94	28	46	48
45	Maine	38.91	37	36	47
46	Alaska	37.68	50	39	33
47	Oklahoma	37.11	49	37	42
48	Arkansas	35.88	45	35	50
49	Mississippi	34.99	41	48	46
50	Louisiana	33.22	42	50	49
51	West Virginia	28.14	48	49	51

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WASHINGTON
STATE Wire

WASHINGTON STATE Wire

Economy

Washington’s economy ranks first in nationwide report

Emily Boerger April 23, 2018

Your support matters.

WASHINGTONSTATE Wire

WASHINGTON STATE Wire

Economy

Washington’s economy ranks first in nationwide report

Emily Boerger April 23, 2018

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