Rhode Island seems like a friendly enough place to live and do business. According to CNBC, that isn’t true. Ranking poorly in the economy category in the cable channels’ annual “America’s Top States for Business,” alongside West Virginia and Alaska, it’s advisable for businesses and residents to consider relocating for better opportunities and quality of life.
The CNBC study considers every state’s economy, which includes the factors of growth, the job market, the stability of state finances, and the housing market. The higher score a state can post is 360. The 10 weakest states do not top 145. Rhode Island’s score is 99, which means it gets an “F” grade when all the factors in the methodology are taken together.
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Rhode Island’s job growth is poor, and it is losing population, which is rare among the states. According to recent Census data, its population dropped by .3% between 2021 and 2022. Only six states had worse figures based on percentages.
Rhode Island’s GDP change was 1.2% in 2022. In Florida, the top state for GDP growth, the figure was 4% higher. Florida also had a job growth rate of 4.0%. Rhode Island’s was up 1.6%.
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One good piece of news is that Rhode Island has a budget surplus. The bad news is that Pew shows it would only last a month at its “current fund balance,” the CNBC study shows.
While it is less and less likely there will be a recession, there may be an economic slowdown later this year, or early next. Why not be in a state where such an atmosphere would have the least effect? That is not Rhode Island. (Read about the best states to live in: All 50 states ranked.)
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