(Click on image to see state ranking)
Delaware has been ranked as the sixth best economy in the nation by the financial information company of WalletHub.com.
The ranking was down slightly from fifth in 2015.
The ranking is based on economic activity, economic health and innovation potential.
Ranking ahead of Delaware were Utah first; Washington, second; California, third; Massachusetts, fourth; and Colorado, fifth. Mississippi was 50th. Long considered the naition’s poorest state, Mississippi often ranks low in state comparisos.
Wallet hub offered the following observations:
“…within the U.S., state economies could still be either boom or bust. Illinois, for instance, is currently in a fiscal free fall, with no budget for the second year in a row — putting its schools and social programs in peril — and the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest. Meanwhile, California has blossomed into the seventh largest economy in the world, boasting a GDP of $2.3 trillion, which was comparable to Brazil’s $2.2 trillion, in 2014.”
Delaware did not rank in the top five in any single category, such as gross domestic product, household incomes, unemployment rates or venture capital investments. However, the First State did manage to finish high enough in various categories to make its way into the top 10.
A Business Now reader passed along the rankings, after seeing the report from free market think tank Mercatus that ranked the state well below average in its fiscal outlook in financing state government.
The low rankings tend to be touted by Republicans as a sign that something is amiss in the state, while Democrats tout rankings like the WalletHub report.
Democrats control the governor’s office, both houses of the General Assembly and most state offices.
