Which States Have the Greatest Economic Opportunity… And Which States Have the Worst: Here is a List of All 50 States—Where Does Your State Stand

Craig HueyEconomics, Recession/Inflation3 Comments

Some state laws and regulations provide great economic opportunity.

Wages will be higher, and the ability to get a raise is greater.

Entrepreneurs will be able to start a business, providing innovations and more goods and services.

Free enterprise is the greatest economic engine in the world.

Socialism kills wages, jobs, and innovation… it destroys the opportunity for the young, hurts the living standards of people with families, and is destructive to retirement plans.

That’s why people are leaving, in mass numbers, in states with bad economies and are going to the states with the best.

The American Legislative Exchange Council has released the new Alec-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index report.

The report followed the states for 16 years, evaluating them based on taxes:

  • Income tax
  • Corporate tax
  • Sales tax
  • Property tax

… and much more.

  • Bureaucrats
  • Laws that promote or hinder frivolous lawsuits
  • States that have extensive regulations vs those that don’t
  • Whether a state is a right to work state (join a union or not)

Fifteen different metrics were used to determine a state’s ranking in the report.

The states that follow the free market, keep taxes low, regulations low, and they give people greater freedom to make decisions—

These states create the greatest economic opportunity.

Which do you think is the best state?

The one that ranked #1 this year was Utah. It was the fastest growing state, by population—Over 18% population growth in the last decade.

Which do you think is the worst state?

The one that came in #50 this year is New York.

Here is the complete list:

1) Utah

2) North Carolina

3) Arizona

4) Oklahoma

5) Idaho

6) Nevada

7) Indiana

8) Florida

9) North Dakota

10) Wyoming

11) Texas

12) South Dakota

13) Tennessee

14) Wisconsin

15) Georgia

16) Arkansas

17) Michigan

18) New Hampshire

19) Ohio

20) Louisiana

21) Alaska

22) Colorado

23) Alabama

24) Virginia

25) West Virginia

26) South Carolina

27) Mississippi

28) Kansas

29) Missouri

30) Delaware

31) Montana

32) Iowa

33) Massachusetts

34) Kentucky

35) Connecticut

36) Nebraska

37) Pennsylvania

38) New Mexico

39) Washington

40) Rhode Island

41) Oregon

42) Maryland

43) Hawaii

44) Maine

45) Illinois

46) Minnesota

47) Vermont

48) California

49) New Jersey

50) New York

Those staying in the worst states on the list are hurting themselves, their children… And if a business they are hurting its ability to grow and prosper. That’s why thinking carefully about where to live is so critical.

We moved from one of the worst states, and what a huge difference! No regrets.

What do you think?

If you live in one of the worst states, are you thinking of moving?

If you live in one of the best states, what do you think?

Email me at [email protected]

3 Comments on “Which States Have the Greatest Economic Opportunity… And Which States Have the Worst: Here is a List of All 50 States—Where Does Your State Stand”

  1. California has a high sales tax, and the top income tax rate is high, but property tax is relatively low. I moved from California to Oregon five years ago, and here there is no sales tax and property tax is low, but my income tax (on a moderate income) is four times as high as it was in California.

    What articles like these leave out is the cost of regulation, which can make your cost of living much higher. California has CEQA, which has made housing extremely expensive. CEQA has prevented the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes, artificially reducing the supply of housing.

  2. Will try and put this in the simplest terms possible. Let’s look at two diagrams of viable economies, O.K.? First is the diamond shaped economic model. A 25% top tier, a 50% middle girth, and a smaller 25% lower income class. That, in really simplistic terms is an ideal economic model worth striving for…it meets the “self governing” model Our Founding Fathers bequeathed to we stewards of this Great Nation. The other, more simplistic model of a backward economic model is the pyramid…a really structured, ossified 10% wealthy class, followed by a very structured 35% middle class (that kow-tows in support of the “top tier class) and the 55% “underclass” with little or no “upward mobility” and definitely very, very structured “underclass.” Top 10 states(in this report) fall in the 25%; middle tier in a 50% range and bottom 10 in the 25%…we’re still a diamond shape…sliding in the direction of a pyramid. Simplistic, but helps draw lines for policy-makers to “wake-up” and smell the roses. Amen. God Bless America. Read A Bible…its all in there…just study it. KJV. and Storng’s Concordance. Amen.

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