The business website 24/7 Wall St has ranked the 50 states on how well they are run and Tennessee comes in at number 23. This ranking includes not just how well the government is managing state affairs but factors such as the unemployment rate, median household income and poverty rate. A different set of criteria would have produced a different ranking. The highest ranked states are those experiencing an oil boom, such as North Dakota and Wyoming. Here is what the website had to say about Tennessee:
23. Tennessee
> Debt per capita: $949 (the lowest)
> Credit Rating (S&P/Moody’s): AA+/Aaa
> 2013 unemployment rate: 8.2% (10th highest)
> Median household income: $44,297 (9th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 17.8% (12th highest)
Tennessee had exceptionally strong finances by most metrics reviewed. For instance, more than 91% of its pension liabilities were funded as of 2013, among the highest percentages in the nation. The state also had less than $1,000 in outstanding debt per resident in fiscal 2012, less than any other state. That year, Tennessee had comparatively small tax revenue relative to other states, likely due, at least in part, to the absence of a state income tax on salaries and wages. Also, the state’s residents are not especially well off. Both per capita GDP and median household income were considerably lower in Tennessee than in the nation as a whole in 2013. Individuals were also more likely to live below the poverty line in Tennessee, and households were more likely to rely on food stamps last year.
Read more: The Best and Worst Run States in America: A Survey of All 50 - 24/7 Wall St.
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