Economic Excellence
Texas' booming economy ranks among 10 best in America
When it comes to economic health, there's no shortage of disparity in the U.S.: Some states are seriously struggling, while others are simply booming. How's Texas doing? Not too bad, it turns out.
After analyzing all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, WalletHub determined 2016's best and worst economies, and Texas comes in at No. 9 overall.
The Lone Star State has its best showing in the economic activity category, third overall. Texas really shines among two individual metrics considered here. We have the second highest GDP growth, North Dakota is No. 1, and we're tied with Washington and Louisiana for most exports per capita.
The other two key dimensions are economic health and innovation potential, for which we rank Nos. 34 and 20, respectively. The former refers to things such as unemployment rate, median household income, foreclosure rate, and the percentage of the population lacking health insurance. The latter takes into account the percentage of high-tech jobs, the number of individual-inventor patents, entrepreneurial activity, and more.
Despite California's unstoppable economy — it's the seventh largest in the world — WalletHub declares Utah the overall winner. Washington is second, and the Golden State is third. Mississippi comes in last.