PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – When it comes to the best state economies in the United States, Washington and Oregon are hard to beat, according to a newly released report from WalletHub.
The personal-finance report published Monday shows that Washington tops the list when it comes to state economies. Meanwhile, Oregon came in ninth.
In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and Washington DC across three key dimensions: economic activity, economic health and innovation potential. Researchers looked at 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength to determine those dimensions.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest economic performance. Researchers calculated a weighted average for each state.
Washington scored high for exports per capita, average educational attainment of recent immigrants, percentage of jobs in high-tech industries and independent inventor patents.
Oregon rates high for its exports per capita, percentage of jobs in high-tech industries, and its change in nonfarm payrolls.
WalletHub asked economic experts what state and local officials can do to help their local economies recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Gregory Burge, chair and professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, said, “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.”
The full report is available to read on WalletHub.com.
Below are the top 10 states with the best economies:
- Washington
- Utah
- California
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Colorado
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- Oregon
- District of Columbia