The good news is that Massachusetts has retained its number-one ranking in the California-based Milken Institute’s annual New Economy Index, which measures states by their potential for high-tech growth. The Bay State finished in the top 10 in all but two of the index’s 12 criteria, benefiting from a highly educated population; venture capital investment and IPO proceeds; and plenty of research-and-development funding from industry, academic institutions, and the federal government. The more puzzling news, given these advantages, is the state’s middling ranking (19th) for business starts in 1999. Nevada and Florida, two Sun Belt states with booming populations, take the top spots in that category, but the Northeastern states of New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Connecticut also finished ahead of Massachusetts. The Bay State is still number one in the percentage of population with college degrees, raising the possibility that people here are simply smarter than they are enterprising.

Milken Insitutue New Economy Index, 2001

Rank State Score Change In Rank From 2000 Change In Score From 2000
1. Massachusetts 93.0 0 0.7
2. California 85.3 0 -0.2
3. Colorado 83.5 1 0.8
4. Connecticut 82.7 -1 -1.0
5. Maryland 78.3 1 0.2
6. New York 77.0 22 2.5
7. Washington 75.8 -2 -3.2
8. Delaware 71.5 3 1.7
9. New Jersey 71.2 -2 -3.5
10. New Hampshire 69.7 -1 -1.5
11. Utah 69.2 1 0.3
12. Texas 65.5 4 2.2
13. Arizona 62.8 5 2.0
14. Oregon 62.2 0 -4.8
15. Virginia 61.7 -2 -6.3
16. Rhode Island 61.5 1 -0.5
17. Illinois 61.3 4 2.8
18. Minnesota 60.5 2 1.2
19. Pennsylvania 60.5 3 3.3
20. Georgia 60.2 -1 0.3
21. New Mexico 59.8 -11 -10.7
22. Michigan 57.2 1 1.8
23. Vermont 57.2 -8 -7.2
24. North Carolina 56.8 0 3.0
25. Florida 50.3 0 -2.0
26. Kansas 48.0 3 5.5
27. Ohio 47.8 -1 -0.2
28. Missouri 47.0 0 0.0
29. Idaho 46.8 -2 -0.5
30. Hawaii 46.5 1 4.5
31. Wisconsin 45.7 -1 3.2
32. Alabama 42.0 2 1.8
33. Tennessee 41.5 -1 0.0
34. Alaska 40.0 -1 -0.3
35. Indiana 38.3 3 4.3
36. Montana 35.3 0 -1.7
37. Nevada 33.7 0 -1.2
38. Iowa 32.8 5 3.7
39. Louisiana 32.2 6 4.7
40. Nebraska 32.2 2 2.0
41. Oklahoma 30.7 -1 -0.5
42. South Carolina 30.5 -3 -1.8
43. Maine 30.2 -8 -7.7
44. Kentucky 27.0 2 2.2
45. North Dakota 25.8 -4 -4.3
46. Wyoming 24.7 -2 -3.0
47. Mississippi 24.2 0 0.7
48. West Virginia 21.7 1 5.3
49. South Dakota 19.3 -1 -0.2
50. Arkansas 11.5 0 1.5

 

Business Starts 1999

Rank State Business Starts
(per 100,000 Population), 1999
1. Nevada 87.16
2. Florida 79.06
3. New Jersey 73.75
4. Colorado 72.56
5. New York 71.91
6. California 67.90
7. Georgia 65.32
8. Oregon 63.15
9. Arizona 63.14
10. Delaware 61.71
11. Washington 58.58
12. Utah 58.41
13. Idaho 58.32
14. Texas 57.65
15. Connecticut 57.62
16. New Hampshire 56.28
17. North Carolina 55.01
18. Maryland 54.01
19. Massachusetts 53.62
20. South Carolina 51.21
21. Alabama 49.80
22. Alaska 48.43
23. Tennessee 48.18
24. Illinois 46.78
25. Virginia 46.25
26. Montana 46.22
27. Wyoming 45.45
28. Hawaii 45.13
29. Rhode Island 44.61
30. Michigan 43.69
31. Minnesota 43.66
32. Mississippi 43.52
33. New Mexico 43.34
34. Pennsylvania 43.21
35. Arkansas 41.90
36. Missouri 41.88
37. Maine 40.94
38. Wisconsin 40.72
39. Louisiana 39.68
40. Indiana 39.12
41. South Dakota 39.01
42. Kentucky 38.33
43. Oklahoma 38.18
44. Ohio 37.94
45. Kansas 37.23
46. Nebraska 36.85
47. Vermont 36.55
48. Iowa 35.37
49. North Dakota 35.03
50. West Virginia 26.01

Source: Milken Institute, New Economy Index 2001