Louisiana climbed four spots to No. 40 in the latest ranking by financial news website 24/7 Wall Street of how effectively all 50 states are run.
In coming up with the rankings each year, the site analyzes data from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as each state’s finances for the previous fiscal year; included in the analysis are revenue, tax collection, pension funding, debt, and expenditure. Unemployment rates, exports and GDPs are also considered, as well as poverty rates, educational attainment, violent crime rates and foreclosures.
“Louisiana had one of the lowest median household incomes in the nation in 2013, at just $44,164, and 10.7% of all households reported an income of less than $10,000, a higher rate than in any state except for Mississippi,” this year’s rankings say. “Largely due to these low incomes, the poverty rate in Louisiana was nearly 20% and 17.2% of households used food stamps last year, both among the highest rates in the nation.”
On the bright side, the ranking notes Louisiana’s GDP grew by 1.3% last year, though that was still less than the U.S. average. Debt per capita in Louisiana declined from $4,045 on last year’s ranking to $3,333 on this year’s.
North Dakota is said to be the best-run state in the country for the third consecutive year on the rankings, while Illinois replaced California as the worst-run state. See the complete rankings. —Steve Sanoski
