Florida and Texas get a lot of ink for their growing economies, but a new study shows that a number of other states are helping fuel the nation's continuing economic growth.
A study by personal finance website WalletHub assessed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across a number of metrics to rank the overall strength of their economies.
WalletHub noted that the largest states exert significant economic impact, with California, Texas, New York and Florida boasting economies that would rank in the top 20 in the world if they were separate countries.
Still, many of the states that landed on the ranking, including the top three, were of lesser size, as the study covered a variety of metrics.
"Our data set ranges from GDP growth and the unemployment rate to startup activity and the share of jobs in high-tech industries," WalletHub said in the report.
The study looked at three general categories: a state's economic activity, which includes gross domestic product and startup activity; its economic health, which includes its unemployment figures, household income and personal income; and its innovation potential, which regards the health of each state's high-tech industries and entrepreneurial activity.
"Factors like a low unemployment rate and high average income help residents purchase property, pay down debt and save for the future," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said in the report.
The following, in ascending order, are the top 10 states in WalletHub's economic ranking:
10. Arizona
Economic activity: 13
Economic health: 9
Innovation potential: 15
Of the states in the top 10, Arizona had the fifth best economic health.
9. District of Columbia
Economic activity: 6
Economic health: 21
Innovation potential: 14
The nation's capital had the nation's highest average educational attainment of recent immigrants.
8. North Carolina
Economic activity: 19
Economic health: 5
Innovation potential: 11
The state had the third-highest government surplus per capita.
7. Florida
Economic activity: 4
Economic health: 2
Innovation potential: 31
The Sunshine State had the highest startup activity in the nation.
6. Colorado
Economic activity: 9
Economic health: 13
Innovation potential: 6
The state ranked fifth in median annual household income and startup activity.
5. California
Economic activity: 3
Economic health: 49
Innovation potential: 3
The state was tied for first with the most independent inventor patents per 1,000 people among the working-age population.
4. Texas
Economic activity: 2
Economic health: 7
Innovation potential: 24
The state had the second-highest GDP growth behind North Dakota.
3. Massachusetts
Economic activity: 11
Economic health: 43
Innovation potential: 1
The state had the highest percentage of jobs in the high-tech industry and was tied with California for most independent inventor patents.
2. Utah
Economic activity: 7
Economic health: 1
Innovation potential: 10
The state came in second for startup activity and median annual household income.
1. Washington
Economic activity: 1
Economic health: 15
Innovation potential: 2
The state ranked second for the percentage of jobs in high-tech industries and third for patents.
The full report can be viewed here.
