By Michael B. Sauter, Evan Comen, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich | 24/7 Wall Street
Comparing the quality of governance between states can be challenging. The decisions state governors, legislators, city mayors and other elected officials make can have wide-reaching effects on state residents, and these decisions can sometimes take years to have an impact.
Aware of these inherent challenges, 24/7 Wall St. has for seven straight years reviewed the outcomes and conditions of every state in the country, ranking each based on finances as well as social and economic indicators. This year, for the fifth year in a row, North Dakota ranks as the best run state in the country. For the second consecutive year, New Mexico ranks worst.
There is no comprehensive measure of how well or poorly a government runs a state. Our basis for this ranking consists of measures of financial health and fiscal responsibility, as well as socioeconomic outcomes such as unemployment, poverty, and crime — conditions state governments are tasked with managing and improving.
Click here to see the best and worst run states in America: a survey of all 50.
