For the second year in a row, Texas has moved up the rankings in a yearly report that lists the most and least innovative states in the U.S., this year appearing in the top-15.
In the personal finance website, WalletHub's 2023's Most and Least Innovative States ranking, the Lone Star State was placed 15th in the whole country. According to news publication CultureMap Fort Worth, Texas moved up one spot over the previous year's ranking (16th in 2022) and two spots up from where the state was two years back (17th in 2021).
In conducting its report, WalletHub took a look at the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, examining how they performed in 22 key metrics related to innovation, including the number of STEM professionals, entrepreneurial activity and patents per capita, to name a few.
The data analyzed for the study was acquired from numerous sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Patent and Trademark Office, etc.
Notably, Texas performed above the national average in numerous metric categories, which included 13th for share of technology companies, 16th for projected STEM job demand by 2030, 18th for share of STEM professionals, 18th in venture capital funding per capita and 21st in share of science and engineering graduates aged 25 or older.
One expert featured in the report points out that access to high-quality education at all levels is an important factor when it comes to a state's innovation economy status, citing the University of Texas as an example.
"Investing in education, particularly K-12 but also at the University level, it is no accident that innovative ecosystems develop in states with strong education systems and research universities," says David L. Deeds, professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.
"These institutions build strong capable modern workforces that attract capital, and jobs and create innovations. The benefits do not happen overnight, in fact, they take years if not decades, but consider what The UC’s or the University of Texas at Austin have meant for the development of premier innovative ecosystems."
The District of Columbia was found to be the most innovative state, followed behind by Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland and California to close out the top five. The least innovative state was Mississippi, followed by Louisiana, North Dakota, West Virginia and Arkansas, respectively.
To view the report in full, head over to WalletHub's website.
