Technological innovation. Image by Tim Sandle
With the U.S. ranking third out of 132 countries in the latest Global Innovation Index the U.S. economy is a strong area for new products and technologies. The Index comprises around 80 indicators, including measures on the political environment, education, infrastructure and knowledge creation of each economy.
Yet within the national headline figure there are some variances across different parts of the U.S.
The personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2024’s Most & Least Innovative States.
In order to give credit to the states that have contributed the most to the U.S.’s innovative success, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of STEM professionals to R&D spending per capita.
This produced an index of the most innovative states; the top ten are:
| 1. District of Columbia |
| 2. Massachusetts |
| 3. Washington |
| 4. California |
| 5. Colorado |
| 6. Maryland |
| 7. Virginia |
| 8. Delaware |
| 9. Utah |
| 10. New Jersey |
Conversely, at the other end of the scale, the states identified as the least innovative were found to be:
| 42. Nebraska |
| 43. Oklahoma |
| 44. Kentucky |
| 45. Iowa |
| 46. Kansas |
| 47. Arkansas |
| 48. North Dakota |
| 49. West Virginia |
| 50. Louisiana |
| 51. Mississippi |
Coming in in top spot, the District of Columbia has the highest share of STEM professionals, which is 3.3 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest.
Commenting on the data sets, Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst, explains why being a lead innovator state matters: “The most innovative states are especially attractive to people who have majored in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as they offer abundant career opportunities and investment dollars, both for jobs at existing companies and for startups. These states also instil young students with the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce, skills which are useful whether or not they pursue a STEM career.
Another top ten positioned state, Delaware, has the highest share of technology companies, which is four times higher than in North Dakota, the lowest. On a different economic measure, New Mexico has the highest research and development (R&D) intensity, which is 13.8 times higher than in Louisiana and South Dakota, the lowest.
