Alabama receives dismal score in Politico’s overall state ranking, but shows improvement

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January 20, 2015

Politico Magazine ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia for the second consecutive year in what they call a “highly scientific and incontrovertible” list, and Alabama’s spot leaves much to be desired.

As with any such list, the criteria were cherry picked to give an overall ranking based on favored metrics.

Politico ranked the states based on variety statistics. Economic stats used in the rankings include per capita income, percent unemployed, percent below poverty level and home ownership rate. They looked at education stats like percentage of the population with a high school diploma and average 8th grade math and reading scores, and also tabulated health stats, including life expectancy at birth, infant deaths per 1,000, and percent obese.

Alabama’s cumulative score held even with its 2014 ranking at #47.

Here are the top 10, according to Politico:

And the bottom 10:

Coming in above several of our neighbors in the Southeast is little consolation, but Alabama’s numbers actually showed some improvement over last year.

Unemployment is down from 6.2 to 6.0 percent. Obesity is down 2 percent overall. Violent crime is down by over 30 per 100,000 people. Alabama now ranks in the top 15 nationally in home ownership, due at least in part to our low property tax burden. The high school graduation rate is up slightly. Infant deaths per 1,000 are continuing their downward trend. And more Alabamians are employed in science, engineering, and mathematics jobs than last year.

Some of Politico’s statistics do not carry the caveats they should, particularly per capita income. Alabama’s relatively low cost of living means you get more bang for your buck — third most in the US — than you would living in one of the states higher on the list.

An Alabamian making the listed per capita income of $23,680 would need to make around $30,000 to enjoy the same standard of living in Politico’s #1 Minnesota, or $32,000 in numbers 2 and 3, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Many of Alabama’s lower rankings are indicative of its history as a heavily agricultural area, and yes, its tumultuous racial past.

But as Alabama makes strides to strengthen its manufacturing and tourism industries, while also preserving our place as one of the country’s most productive agricultural states, expect to see the state rise up the rankings.