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Maine ranks 18th highest on state-by-state prosperity index

(The Center Square) – Maine came in 18th highest in the second annual U.S. Prosperity Index from the Legatum Institute, based on growth, economic performance and quality-of-life indicators among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The analysis ranks the states and Washington, D.C., using 11 pillars of prosperity, including “Inclusive Societies” and “Personal Freedom.” Maine ranked first on “Safety & Security,” 31st on “Business Environment” and 22nd in the education category.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, prosperity had been on the upswing for 10 years in all states, with the exception of Alaska, the Legatum Institute report found. But the increase in prosperity was uneven, with northern states doing better than those in the South, according to the analysis.

The last 10 years marked the longest period of economic expansion in U.S. history, researchers said, with most states becoming more efficient and competitive and building up their financial reserves.

State Rankings on 2020 Prosperity Index Indicators

State Overall Prosperity Inclusive Societies Safety & Security Personal Freedom Business Environment Education
Massachusetts 1 3 9 2 3 1
Connecticut 2 2 6 1 13 6
Minnesota 3 7 14 22 16 7
New Hampshire 4 6 2 7 9 5
Washington 5 11 29 11 14 11
Utah 6 4 17 6 8 15
District of Columbia 7 18 51 3 4 4
Vermont 8 5 3 8 27 3
New York 9 29 11 16 2 21
Colorado 10 13 35 12 5 9
New Jersey 11 21 5 13 28 2
Wisconsin 12 9 15 29 10 16
North Dakota 13 15 18 17 34 24
Iowa 14 8 10 14 41 14
Maryland 15 22 34 18 25 10
Nebraska 16 12 19 30 19 13
Rhode Island 17 10 7 4 39 25
Maine 18 1 1 10 31 22
Virginia 19 19 12 35 18 8
Delaware 20 28 27 34 24 31
Illinois 21 24 32 9 7 19
Pennsylvania 22 32 21 23 1 12
Oregon 23 16 24 20 45 30
Hawaii 24 14 20 19 51 34
Wyoming 25 23 8 15 40 17
California 26 34 38 25 35 40
Idaho 27 17 4 33 29 38
South Dakota 28 27 16 42 32 26
Michigan 29 25 31 27 26 18
Florida 30 40 36 21 38 29
North Carolina 31 39 33 44 17 32
Montana 32 20 23 28 20 28
Indiana 33 31 28 31 11 23
Kansas 34 35 37 24 12 27
Ohio 35 33 25 46 21 20
Texas 36 43 39 45 15 41
Missouri 37 42 43 49 6 33
Georgia 38 48 30 51 23 35
Arizona 39 36 40 32 42 43
Alaska 40 30 47 26 48 44
Tennessee 41 41 44 48 22 36
South Carolina 42 44 46 43 37 37
Kentucky 43 37 22 37 30 39
New Mexico 44 38 49 5 43 51
Alabama 45 46 42 47 33 47
Nevada 46 51 50 39 49 50
West Virginia 47 26 13 40 50 49
Oklahoma 48 49 41 41 36 42
Louisiana 49 50 48 36 46 48
Arkansas 50 47 45 50 47 45
Mississippi 51 45 26 38 44 46

Source: Legatum Institute’s 2020 Prosperity Index

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