Texas ranks 36th highest on state-by-state prosperity index

Texas ranks 36th highest in the second annual U.S. Prosperity Index from the Legatum Institute, based on growth, economic performance and quality-of-life indicators.

The analysis ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using 11 indicators of prosperity, including “Inclusive Societies” and “Personal Freedom.” Texas ranked 39th on “Safety & Security,” 15th on “Business Environment” and 41st in the education category.

Prior to the coronavirus, prosperity had been on the upswing for 10 years in all states, with the exception of Alaska, the Legatum Institute report says. The amount of increase in prosperity was uneven, it notes, with northern states faring better than Southern states.

The last 10 years (2009- 2019) marked the longest period of economic expansion in U.S. history, Legatum argues, with most states having become more efficient and competitive and building up their financial reserves.

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State Rankings on 2020 Prosperity Index Indicators

State	Overall Prosperity	Inclusive Societies	Safety & Security	Personal Freedom	Business Environment	Education
Massachusetts	1	3	9	2	3	1
Connecticut	2	2	6	1	13	6
Minnesota	3	7	14	22	16	7
New Hampshire	4	6	2	7	9	5
Washington	5	11	29	11	14	11
Utah	6	4	17	6	8	15
District of Columbia	7	18	51	3	4	4
Vermont	8	5	3	8	27	3
New York	9	29	11	16	2	21
Colorado	10	13	35	12	5	9
New Jersey	11	21	5	13	28	2
Wisconsin	12	9	15	29	10	16
North Dakota	13	15	18	17	34	24
Iowa	14	8	10	14	41	14
Maryland	15	22	34	18	25	10
Nebraska	16	12	19	30	19	13
Rhode Island	17	10	7	4	39	25
Maine	18	1	1	10	31	22
Virginia	19	19	12	35	18	8
Delaware	20	28	27	34	24	31
Illinois	21	24	32	9	7	19
Pennsylvania	22	32	21	23	1	12
Oregon	23	16	24	20	45	30
Hawaii	24	14	20	19	51	34
Wyoming	25	23	8	15	40	17
California	26	34	38	25	35	40
Idaho	27	17	4	33	29	38
South Dakota	28	27	16	42	32	26
Michigan	29	25	31	27	26	18
Florida	30	40	36	21	38	29
North Carolina	31	39	33	44	17	32
Montana	32	20	23	28	20	28
Indiana	33	31	28	31	11	23
Kansas	34	35	37	24	12	27
Ohio	35	33	25	46	21	20
Texas	36	43	39	45	15	41
Missouri	37	42	43	49	6	33
Georgia	38	48	30	51	23	35
Arizona	39	36	40	32	42	43
Alaska	40	30	47	26	48	44
Tennessee	41	41	44	48	22	36
South Carolina	42	44	46	43	37	37
Kentucky	43	37	22	37	30	39
New Mexico	44	38	49	5	43	51
Alabama	45	46	42	47	33	47
Nevada	46	51	50	39	49	50
West Virginia	47	26	13	40	50	49
Oklahoma	48	49	41	41	36	42
Louisiana	49	50	48	36	46	48
Arkansas	50	47	45	50	47	45
Mississippi	51	45	26	38	44	46

Source: Legatum Institute’s 2020 Prosperity Index

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