At Bloomberg View Justin Fox produces six bar charts that illustrate which states have prospered the most over the last year, which the least, which states have prospered the most since 2009, which the least, and which states have prospered the most since 2000 and which the least. Just two states appear on all three “the most” graphs: California and Utah. Three states appear on all three “the least” graphs: Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
Searching for commonalities among winners or losers is tough. California and Utah are both west of the Mississippi but so is Louisiana. The other things that I can see that distinguish California and Utah from the rest of the United States is that both have mountains and both have percentages of black population far below the national average (California 6%, Utah 2%). However, West Virginia has mountains and just 4% black population. Go figure.
While high educational attainment doesn’t seem to be much of a factor among the states in becoming a winner, low educational attainment does link Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia as does all being Red States. California is a reliably Blue State while Utah is reliably Red.
Guess which state has had the worst millennium to date? You hardly have to ask. Illinois.
