1st Annual Most Improved State, Then and Now

The first table (THEN) reveals how each state would have ranked 10 years ago if the 12 factors were used to compare the states. The second table (NOW) shows how the states would rank if the most recent data were used to rank the states. These tables illustrate that some states that do very well in our Most Improved State Award rankings still have a lot of progress to make. Conversely, other states that do not fare as well in our Most Improved State Award rankings are doing much better than most other states.

For further clarification, let’s look at individual states. California, the winner of the 1^st Annual Most Improved State Award, ranked only 44^th in the “THEN” rankings, which are based on data for the 12 factors from 10 years ago. In the “NOW” table which displays the most recent data, California improved, but still ranks 40^th. However, California’s percent change for each of the 12 factors considered for the Most Improved State Award averaged out to be the highest of any state. It started its ascent from a fairly deep hole, but has managed to claw its way up the state rankings ladder even as other states were improving. It is on this basis that California is the winner of the 1^st Annual Most Improved State Award.

On the flip side, Nebraska comes in dead last in our 1^st Annual Most Improved State rankings. However, looking at the “THEN” table of factors from 10 years ago, Nebraska is second best among states. The “NOW” table, which shows rankings using current data, has Nebraska slipping to a fourth place ranking, still very impressive. However, Nebraska’s percent change over 10 years for each of the 12 factors averaged out to be the worst of all the states. It is for this reason that Nebraska is ranked lowest in the 1^st Annual Most Improved State Award rankings.

It is important to remember that states are changing. While California has posted the greatest rate of improvement, it has a long way to go to catch up with most states. At the same time, the remaining 49 states are working as hard as possible to identify problems, take action and make progress.

"THEN" TABLE:
HOW STATES WOULD HAVE RANKED USING DATA FROM THE 12 FACTORS FOR 10 YEARS AGO
ALPHA ORDER		RANK ORDER
RANK	STATE	RANK	STATE
47	Alabama	1	New Hampshire
31	Alaska	2	Nebraska
43	Arizona	3	Vermont
41	Arkansas	4	Iowa
44	California	5	Utah
15	Colorado	6	Minnesota
8	Connecticut	7	Wisconsin
20	Delaware	8	Connecticut
49	Florida	9	Virginia
42	Georgia	10	Hawaii
10	Hawaii	10	North Dakota
30	Idaho	12	Maine
28	Illinois	12	South Dakota
27	Indiana	14	Massachusetts
4	Iowa	15	Colorado
16	Kansas	16	Kansas
32	Kentucky	17	New Jersey
50	Louisiana	18	Pennsylvania
12	Maine	19	Rhode Island
29	Maryland	20	Delaware
14	Massachusetts	21	Montana
35	Michigan	22	Wyoming
6	Minnesota	23	Missouri
48	Mississippi	23	Ohio
23	Missouri	25	Washington
21	Montana	26	Oregon
2	Nebraska	27	Indiana
36	Nevada	28	Illinois
1	New Hampshire	29	Maryland
17	New Jersey	30	Idaho
45	New Mexico	31	Alaska
39	New York	32	Kentucky
34	North Carolina	33	West Virginia
10	North Dakota	34	North Carolina
23	Ohio	35	Michigan
39	Oklahoma	36	Nevada
26	Oregon	37	Texas
18	Pennsylvania	38	Tennessee
19	Rhode Island	39	New York
46	South Carolina	39	Oklahoma
12	South Dakota	41	Arkansas
38	Tennessee	42	Georgia
37	Texas	43	Arizona
5	Utah	44	California
3	Vermont	45	New Mexico
9	Virginia	46	South Carolina
25	Washington	47	Alabama
33	West Virginia	48	Mississippi
7	Wisconsin	49	Florida
22	Wyoming	50	Louisiana

"NOW" TABLE:
HOW STATES WOULD RANK NOW USING MOST CURRENT DATA FROM THE 12 FACTORS
ALPHA ORDER		RANK ORDER
RANK	STATE	RANK	STATE
38	Alabama	1	New Hampshire
33	Alaska	2	Minnesota
42	Arizona	3	Iowa
47	Arkansas	4	Nebraska
40	California	4	Vermont
20	Colorado	6	Connecticut
6	Connecticut	6	Virginia
19	Delaware	8	South Dakota
46	Florida	9	Utah
35	Georgia	10	New Jersey
21	Hawaii	11	Maine
27	Idaho	12	Wisconsin
31	Illinois	13	Wyoming
24	Indiana	14	Massachusetts
3	Iowa	14	North Dakota
18	Kansas	14	Pennsylvania
31	Kentucky	17	Rhode Island
50	Louisiana	18	Kansas
11	Maine	19	Delaware
22	Maryland	20	Colorado
14	Massachusetts	21	Hawaii
37	Michigan	22	Maryland
2	Minnesota	23	Missouri
49	Mississippi	24	Indiana
23	Missouri	25	Montana
25	Montana	25	Ohio
4	Nebraska	27	Idaho
33	Nevada	28	Oregon
1	New Hampshire	29	West Virginia
10	New Jersey	30	Washington
48	New Mexico	31	Illinois
36	New York	31	Kentucky
43	North Carolina	33	Alaska
14	North Dakota	33	Nevada
25	Ohio	35	Georgia
45	Oklahoma	36	New York
28	Oregon	37	Michigan
14	Pennsylvania	38	Alabama
17	Rhode Island	39	Tennessee
44	South Carolina	40	California
8	South Dakota	41	Texas
39	Tennessee	42	Arizona
41	Texas	43	North Carolina
9	Utah	44	South Carolina
4	Vermont	45	Oklahoma
6	Virginia	46	Florida
30	Washington	47	Arkansas
29	West Virginia	48	New Mexico
12	Wisconsin	49	Mississippi
13	Wyoming	50	Louisiana

METHODOLOGY: To determine a state's rankings if we were to have ranked them on the annual data for the 12 factors instead of the 10-year percent change, we followed the same methodology used in the Most Improved State award. For the "THEN" table above, each state's rankings for data from 10 years ago 12 categories were averaged. For the "NOW" table above, each state's rankings for data from the most current year available in the 12 categories were averaged. The scale is 1 to 50, the higher the number, the better. All factors were given equal weight. States with no data available for a given category were ranked based only on the remaining factors. In our book, data are listed from highest to lowest. However, for purposes of this award, we inverted rankings for those factors we determined to be "positive." Thus the state with the highest median household income in the book (ranking 1st) would be given a number 50 ranking for this award.