Wyoming Named #2 Best Run State
The Best and Worst Run States in America: A Survey of All 50
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2. Wyoming > Debt per capita: $2,694 (18th lowest) > Budget deficit: 10.3% (32nd largest) > Unemployment: 6.0% (7th lowest) > Median household income: $56,322 (13th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 11.3% (6th lowest)
Wyoming is not the best-run state in the nation this year. The drop is largely due to the state’s contracting economy. In 2011, GDP shrunk by 1.2%, more than any other state. As a whole, however, the state is a model of good management and a prospering population. The state is particularly efficient at managing its debt, owing the equivalent of just 20.4% of annual revenue in fiscal 2010. Wyoming also has a tax structure that, according to the Tax Foundation, is the nation’s most-favorable for businesses — it does not have any corporate income taxes. The state has experienced an energy boom in recent years. The mining industry, which includes oil and gas extracting, accounted for 29.4% of the state’s GDP in 2011 alone, more than in any other state. As of last year, Wyoming’s poverty, home foreclosure, and unemployment rates were all among the lowest in the nation.
