2025 Economic Momentum Rankings

Lagging Behind: States at Risk West Virginia (#49), Hawaii (#50), and Vermont (#51) struggle with population loss, limited economic diversification, and slow job growth.

Takeaway: These states need to rethink the basics and diversify their industry, invest in talent, and create a compelling case for why businesses should take a second look.

These momentum rankings are based on 4+ years of hard growth metrics including population shifts signaling labor and consumer demand, employment trends showing job creation, and macroeconomic output reflecting economic health. Entrepreneurial signals, like new business starts and tax structure analysis are used to assess business friendliness.
Chart: Vermont Futures ProjectSource: Camoin AssociatesGet the data Download imageCreated with Datawrapper