UNDATED – With certain state economies hurt more than others during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as Hawaii, which has a 9% unemployment rate, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst State Economies, as well as accompanying videos.
In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 29 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from change in GDP to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries.
South Dakota’s economy ranked 33rd overall in the study. It did best in the Economic Health category, where it ranked 3rd and placed worst, 49th, for Innovation Potential. It ranked 21st for Economic Activity.
| Best State Economies | Worst State Economies |
| 1. Utah | 42. Wyoming |
| 2. Washington | 43. Mississippi |
| 3. California | 44. Maine |
| 4. Massachusetts | 45. Nevada |
| 5. Idaho | 46. Kentucky |
| 6. Colorado | 47. Oklahoma |
| 7. Maryland | 48. Alaska |
| 8. Oregon | 49. Louisiana |
| 9. Arizona | 50. West Virginia |
| 10. Georgia | 51. Hawaii |
Best vs. Worst
- Louisiana has the highest value of exports per capita, $12,782, which is 56.8 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest at $225.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of the population living in poverty, 7.60 percent, which is 2.7 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest at 20.30 percent.
- Vermont has the lowest foreclosure rate, 0.0015 percent, which is 11.9 times lower than in Delaware and Nevada, the states with the highest at 0.0179 percent.
- Massachusetts has the highest share of jobs in high-tech industries, 8.37 percent, which is 4.1 times higher than in Arkansas, the state with the lowest at 2.03 percent.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
