The Best and Worst Run States In America: A Survey of All Fifty

How well run are America's fifty states? 24/7 Wall St. has taken several months to consider that question. Our writers looked at hundreds of data sets ranging from debt rating agency reports to violent crime rates, unemployment trends and median income. Of those, we chose what we considered to be the 10 most important rankings of financial and overall government management. The best run state is Wyoming. The worst is Kentucky. The standing of each is supported by their ranking in the data sets we considered, as are the rankings of all fifty states. 24/7 Wall St. has completed one of the most comprehensive studies of state financial management ever performed by the mainstream media. It is based on evaluation principles used in the award-winning Best Run States In America ratings published by Financial World Magazine during the 1990s. These studies were used by state governments to evaluate the efficiency of their own operations. The new 24/7 Wall St. study is meant to help businesses and individuals examine state operations with an unbiased eye. The work involved in comparing states is challenging. This is due to the volume of the data and the many ways it can be interpreted. A comparison is made even more difficult because state governments have advantages and disadvantages that may be decades old. These include the presence of natural resources, the decisions by large companies to locate or leave and the extent to which populations are rural or urban. Populations of some states have changed very little. Other states have added or lost hundreds of thousands of people in the last decade. Many border states accommodate large numbers of immigrants. Ultimately, however, states can control their own destinies. Well-run states have a great deal in common with well-run corporations. Books are kept balanced. Investment is prudent. Debt is sustainable. Innovation is prized. Workers are well-chosen and well-trained. Executives are picked based on merit and not “politics.” 24/7 Wall Street identified surveys with complete data sets for each state. Using this data, our formula ranked each state, giving weight to metrics that are most important to prudent governance. In addition to traditional fiscal information, including GDP per capita, debt per capita, and credit rating, our analysis also showed the impact of state policies on its residents. Combined, this created a complete picture of the “state of each state.” A fuller accounting of our methodology can be found at the end of the article. The 24/7 Wall St. State of the States is meant to be an analysis that will refocus the debate on state management and financial operations in a period when the future of all 50 is at stake, just as the future of the country is uncertain.