Massachusetts Ranked as the Best State Economy in the Country

Money image via 401kcalculator.org on Flickr/Creative Commons/ Illustration by Madeline Bilis

Looking for an example of a high-performing state economy? One can be found pretty close to home.

According to Governing magazine, a news and analysis publication for state and local governments, Massachusetts has the best state economy in the country.  By looking at factors like unemployment rates, personal income per capita, job growth, and per capita state GDP, the magazine determined which states were faring better than others this year. The Bay State came out on top.

Massachusetts was followed by Oregon, Delaware, Colorado and California. Yet, we didn’t even make it into the top 10 the last time Governing put together a list in 2013. Our new title can be attributed to new strength in sectors like health care, technology, and biotechnology.

Governing‘s results display a connection between a state’s economic performance and its governor’s approval ratings. “Once we compiled the state economic rankings, we cross-referenced them with gubernatorial approval ratings to see whether governors of strong economic states were being rewarded by the voters,” writes Governing.

It turns out, they are. Approval ratings for governors in the top 10 states on the list averaged at 62.1 percent. And Massachusetts’ own Governor Charlie Baker claims the highest approval rating of any governor in the United States at 72 percent.

But to be clear, Charlie Baker isn’t getting all of the credit.

“No one sees him as primarily responsible for the high growth rate or low unemployment that we currently enjoy,” Tufts University political scientist Jeffrey Berry told Governing.

Berry added that the state is poised for continued growth—so give yourself a pat on the back, Massachusetts.