Maine ups its score in 'best' states ranking, but is far from best for businesses
A new study says Maine is a better state than it was two years ago, but not as good as neighboring states — particularly when it comes to business and the economy.
The 2021 "Best States" report by U.S. News & World Report, released Tuesday, ranked Maine No. 27, up from its last ranking, No. 32, in 2019.
Maine ranked No. 22 in 2018, and No. 18 in 2017, the first year of the Best States analysis. U.S. News did not release rankings in 2020.
The analysis evaluates all 50 states across a range of categories to determine which ones best serve their citizens, according to the magazine publisher. For the 2021 report, U.S. News compared more than 70 metrics and tens of thousands of data points in eight categories of well-being in each state. A survey of more than 26,000 people across the country also provided input.
Maine scored near the top in two categories: Crime & Corrections, where the state was No. 2 nationally, and Natural Environment, in which Maine was No. 14.
But the state didn’t fare as well in other areas, ranking in the 20s for four categories: Education, Health Care, Fiscal Stability and Opportunity. In the ranking for Infrastructure, Maine was No. 37, and for Economy, No. 36.
Tough regional competition
In contrast, New Hampshire ranked No. 4 in the overall ranking, and was No. 11 when it came to economic conditions. The state even outperformed Maine in the measurements of crime safety and the environment, placing No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
Other New England states also scored high in the overall rankings. Massachusetts was No. 9; Vermont, No. 11; and Connecticut, No. 20. Rhode Island ranked slightly below Maine, at No. 34.
But when it came to rankings for economy, Maine was the lowest-ranking state in New England, and one of the lowest in the East. Only Pennsylvania, No. 42, and New York, No. 43, were lower.
The economic ranking considered three criteria: business environment, based on the monthly “birth rate” for new businesses and the rate of patents for new inventions; employment, based on three-year averages for job growth, unemployment rates and labor force participation rates; and growth, based on the young population in the state, overall growth through migration and the GDP growth rate.
Maine ranked relatively high in the growth category, No. 17, and was middle-of-the-pack for employment, No. 30. But the state’s business environment ranked No. 46, or fifth-worst in the country.
Alaska ranked as the worst, No. 50, for Economy, while Utah was No. 1. In the overall rankings, the state of Washington took the top prize and Louisiana was No. 50.
The data used to compile the 2021 Best States rankings came primarily from a period before the pandemic and was not affected by its impact on states, U.S. News noted.
The publisher, which has produced the namesake magazine since 1933, calls itself "the global authority in rankings." U.S. News launched its first annual ranking in 1983, with the release of an "America's Best Colleges" report.
For more information and the complete Best State rankings, click here.
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New York #43 for economy?? Makes one question their metrics.
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