New Study Reports MA Is One of Best Run States in U.S.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
The report evaluated 20 measures of state finances, economy, job market, and social-economic measures.
According to 24/7 Wall Street’s survey of Best Run States in America, Massachusetts is the best-run state in New England and the ninth-best run state in the country.
About Massachusetts, 24/67 writes:
“Massachusetts is the only state east of the Mississippi to rank among the top 10 best-managed. The state has a massive $53.6 billion budget, and it allocates a relatively large 37.6% share to public welfare. The state has relatively generous benefits for residents who qualify. For example, unemployment insurance recipients receive an average of $511 a week, the most of any state. Residents of Massachusetts are also less likely to be unemployed than most Americans. Just 3.7% of workers in the state were unemployed in 2017, a smaller share than the 4.4% national unemployment rate.
24/7 added, "Massachusetts was also the first state to mandate health insurance coverage for its citizens, years before the Affordable Care Act was even discussed at the national level. Partially as a result, just 2.8% of state residents do not have health insurance, the lowest uninsured rate in the country.”24/7 added "
MA by the Numbers:
- 2017 unemployment: 3.7% (16th lowest)
- Pension funded ratio: 57.6% (12th lowest)
- 1 yr. GDP growth: +2.6% (9th highest)
- Poverty rate: 10.5% (10th lowest)
- Moody’s credit rating and outlook: Aa1/Stable
The Rankings
Massachusetts is ranked behind Colorado and Idaho, who rank 7th and 8th respectively
Massachusetts is ranked ahead of Nebraska and Nevada, who rank 10th and 11th overall.
The best-run state in the country is Oregon, while the worst run state is Louisiana.
The Method
To determine how well each state is run, 24/7 Wall St. built an index of 20 measures of state finances, economy, job market, social-economic measures, and more from a variety of sources.
From the U.S. Census Bureau, they looked at net migration to a state from July 2016 to July 2017 as a percentage of the 2016 population.
24/7 reviewed each state’s finances for the 2016 fiscal year, including revenue, per capita tax collection, expenditure, and debt levels, all from the Census.
Also from the Census, they reviewed the per capita value of a state’s exports.
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