SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) - According to Delaware based 24/7 Wall St., Utah ranks among the best managed states in the country.
24/7 Wall St. looked at each state's debt, revenue, expenditures, and deficit to conclude how well each state is managed fiscally.
Other determining factors are taxes, exports, GDP growth, income, poverty, unemployment, high school graduation rates, crime foreclosure rates.
After weighing all this information Utah was ranked 4th in 2012.
Here is how 24/7 Wall St. made that conclusion.
Debt per capita: $2,356 (15th lowest)
Budget deficit: 14.7% (25th largest)
Unemployment: 6.7% (tied-11th lowest)
Median household income: $55,869 (14th highest)
Percent below poverty line: 13.5% (tied-17th lowest)
In 2011, Utah's budget deficit was $700 million. This was equal to 14.7% of the state’s GDP. This debt-to-GDP ratio was worse than half the states in the U.S. On the flip side, Utah committed to reducing expenses instead of raising taxes or increasing debt. The state also limited its borrowing. Its total debt was just under $6.5 billion in fiscal 2010, or $2,356 per capita. Utah also received the highest credit ratings available by Moody’s and S&P because of the state’s strong fiscal management. Moody’s commented that Utah has a “tradition of conservative fiscal management; rebuilding of budgetary reserves after their use in the recession; [and] a closely managed debt portfolio.”
The three best ran state's are North Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska. The three worst ran are Illinois, Rhode Island, and California.
----Information from:24/7 Wall St.
