Report: West Virginia one of the least innovative states in country

(The Center Square) – West Virginia is one of the least innovative states in the country, according to a report published by the financial website WalletHub this week.

When compared to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, the state ranked 48, scoring only 31.36 out of a possible 100 points. West Virginia ranked second to last in its innovation environment and 44 in its human capital ranking.

West Virginia ranked in the bottom five states in four of the metrics used to rank the states. It ranked second to last in venture-capital funding per capita and third to last in research and development funding per capita. It ranked 47th in its share of technology companies and in its share of STEM professionals.

“Only 4.1% of the state’s employees are STEM professionals, and this number is estimated to drop by 2028,” Jill Gonzalez, an analyst for WalletHub, told The Center Square. “Additionally, West Virginia’s eighth grade students recorded low performance in math and science. “

“In terms of innovation environment, the state ranks second to last,” Gonzalez said. “Some of the reasons for this include the low share of tech companies — 3%, a low volume of research and development spending and intensity, a small number of invention patents, and a low tech industry gross state product. West Virginia also has low entrepreneurial activity, low venture capital and federal small business funding, low internet speed, and just 76% of households with internet access.”

The human capital ranking considered several criteria, including STEM jobs, science and engineering graduates, scientific knowledge output, eighth-grade math and science performance and AP exam participation. Some of the criteria considered for the environment ranking included the share of technology companies, per-capita research and development spending, migration, business startups and entrepreneurial activity.

West Virginia is trying to improve the climate in the state with legislation that would eliminate most of the state’s income tax. However, it would include hikes to sales tax and taxes from other revenue sources. The state is also trying to expand broadband access.

The only states to perform worse than West Virginia were Mississippi, Louisiana and North Dakota, which were the bottom three. Massachusetts was the top state for innovation, followed by the District of Columbia, Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

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