How Massachusetts’s Economy Compares to Other States

The COVID-19 pandemic sent economic shockwaves through the U.S. economy, tripling the monthly unemployment to nearly 15% and leading to a more than 30% quarterly decline in GDP — by far the largest economic contraction in U.S. history.

No corner of the country was untouched by the pandemic’s economic consequences — but some states have emerged better off than others. A range of factors, including industrial diversity, labor force education levels, household income, and long-term GDP growth, have an effect on a state’s overall economic strength — and its ability to withstand the impact of the pandemic.

To determine the states with the best and worst economies, both in the years leading up to the pandemic and during it, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of five measures — five-year economic growth, five-year employment growth, the poverty rate, unemployment rate, and share of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Massachusetts is home to the best-educated workforce in the country. An estimated 45% of adults in the state have a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than every other state and well above the 33.1% share of adults nationwide.

While the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in massive job losses in Massachusetts, these employment declines were not enough to erase the progress of the last five years as they were in other other parts of the country. Additionally, due in part to strong growth in the information and professional, scientific, and technical services industries, Massachusetts’s GDP expanded at an average annual rate of 1.4% since the fourth quarter of 2015, a faster rate than most states.

All index components used to create this ranking were included at equal weight. All data used to create the index came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. Additional state level data on economic output by industry from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is how all 50 state economies rank.

RankStatePoverty rateMarch 2021 unemployment rateAvg. annual employment chg., March 2016 to March 2021Avg. annual GDP chg., Q4 2015 to Q4 20201Utah8.9%2.9%+2.0%+3.9%2Idaho11.2%3.2%+2.3%+3.9%3Washington9.8%5.4%+1.2%+4.3%4Colorado9.3%6.4%+1.4%+2.8%5New Hampshire7.3%3.0%+0.2%+0.6%6Nebraska9.9%2.9%+0.0%+1.2%7Minnesota9.0%4.2%-0.1%+1.1%8Massachusetts9.4%6.8%+0.2%+1.4%9Georgia13.3%4.5%+1.7%+2.2%10Oregon11.4%6.0%+0.9%+2.8%11Virginia9.9%5.1%-0.2%+1.2%12Kansas11.4%3.7%+0.2%+1.1%13Montana12.6%3.8%+0.5%+1.2%14South Dakota11.9%2.9%+0.6%+0.8%15Florida12.7%4.7%+0.9%+2.2%16Maryland9.0%6.2%-0.6%+1.0%17Arizona13.5%6.7%+1.9%+2.9%18Wisconsin10.4%3.8%-0.2%+0.8%19Vermont10.2%2.9%-1.9%-0.1%20North Carolina13.6%5.2%+0.8%+1.7%21Indiana11.9%3.9%+0.1%+1.5%22South Carolina13.8%5.1%+0.9%+1.8%23Maine10.9%4.8%-0.7%+1.0%24Alabama15.5%3.8%+1.3%+1.1%25Tennessee13.9%5.0%+1.2%+1.0%26Missouri12.9%4.2%-0.0%+0.7%27New Jersey9.2%7.7%-0.9%+0.3%28Iowa11.2%3.7%-0.9%+0.3%29Ohio13.1%4.7%+0.0%+0.7%30North Dakota10.6%4.4%-0.6%-0.4%31Texas13.6%6.9%+0.6%+1.7%32California11.8%8.3%-0.6%+2.4%33Delaware11.3%6.5%+0.4%-0.6%34Nevada12.5%8.1%+1.5%+1.9%35Michigan13.0%5.1%-0.6%+0.4%36Wyoming10.1%5.3%-0.4%-1.6%37Rhode Island10.8%7.1%-0.8%-0.5%38Oklahoma15.2%4.2%+0.4%-0.6%39Pennsylvania12.0%7.3%-0.8%+0.6%40Illinois11.5%7.1%-1.6%+0.2%41New York13.0%8.5%-0.8%+0.8%42Arkansas16.2%4.4%+0.1%+0.6%43Alaska10.1%6.6%-0.8%-0.8%44Connecticut10.0%8.3%-2.4%+0.1%45Kentucky16.3%5.0%-0.1%+0.5%46Hawaii9.3%9.0%-2.1%-0.5%47West Virginia16.0%5.9%+0.3%-0.2%48New Mexico18.2%8.3%-0.1%+1.1%49Mississippi19.6%6.3%+0.1%+0.5%50Louisiana19.0%7.3%-0.8%+0.3%

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