Once again Rhode Island gets crushed in a national economic study!
Recently we learned that Rhode Island is the 9th Worst State for Entrepreneurs while Massachusetts is 8th BEST!
And today we learn the Rhode Island ranks as the 4th WORST run state in America while Massachusetts is the 10th BEST in a study done by 24/7 Wall Street!
4th Worst – Rhode Island
> Debt per capita: $9,068 (2nd highest)
> Credit rating (S&P/Moody’s): AA/Aa2
> Unemployment rate: 5.3% (17th highest)
> Median household income: $54,891 (19th highest)
> Poverty rate: 14.3% (24th lowest)
After Massachusetts, its neighbor to the north, Rhode Island’s debt per capita is the second highest in the nation, contributing to its rank as the fourth worst-run state. While the average state debt per capita across all states is $3,567, Rhode Island’s debt is equal to $9,068 per state resident. With a dwindling tax base, conditions may get worse in the Ocean State before they get better. Rhode Island lost roughly 0.3% of its total population to people relocating from 2010 through 2014, making it one of 12 states with more people moving out than moving in. The population decline likely contributed to the even sharper drop in property values. Home prices in Rhode Island decreased by 7.3% over roughly the same time period, the fourth steepest drop in the country.
Budget allocation in Rhode Island may not be efficient. While the state spends much more on government than is typical, at 5.4% of its annual budget, the government sector actually detracted 0.2 percentage points from the state’s 2014 GDP growth, a larger drag than in all but six other states.
For the love of God, we only beat out Mississippi, Illinois and New Mexico!
Congrats to Massachusetts for rankning as the 10th BEST run state in the country.
10th Best – Massachusetts
> Debt per capita: $11,291 (the highest)
> Credit rating (S&P/Moody’s): AA+/Aa1
> Unemployment rate: 4.6% (22nd lowest)
> Median household income: $69,160 (6th highest)
> Poverty rate: 11.6% (10th lowest)
Massachusetts residents are the most likely Americans to have gone to college. Of the adults in the state, 41.2% have a bachelor’s degree and 18.0% have a graduate degree, each the highest such rate in the nation. The high level of education helps residents earn high incomes and partially explains the significant presence of technology and scientific occupations, particularly in the Boston area. At $69,160, the state’s median annual household income is the sixth highest in the country. Also, the professional and scientific industry contributed 0.52 percentage points to GDP growth last year, tied with Utah as the second largest such contribution in the country.
Unlike other healthy state economies, however, Massachusetts has one of the highest debt levels. The state’s debt equals 137.4% of annual revenue, by far the largest debt ratio of any state. While high debt is not necessarily a sign of economic weakness, it could partially explain S&P’s negative outlook for the state.
Massachusetts stuffing Rhode Island in lockers and eating our lunch since 1776!
