Since the end of the Great Recession, Florida has been top three in every meaningful economic growth category. Jobs added. Reduction in the unemployment rate. Income growth. You name it, all progress and all good news. Still, we’ve had our challenges like cost of living, transportation options and for a long-time education. The story has been lopsided as a result. A great state for people to relocate to for business after they’ve already established themselves but not a state to get started in. Well, that appears to be changing as well. The latest state comparisons from US News and World Report are out. It compares states based on.
- Health Care #34
- Education #7
- Economy #5
- Opportunity #36
- Infrastructure #11
- Crime & Corrections #32
- Fiscal Stability #3
- Quality of Life #33
Florida’s progress had been so impressive over the past year that we passed nine other states in overall rankings to serve as the 15th best overall state to live in. What’s really exciting is that as good as our economy is, 5th best overall still, our stability is 3rd best overall. That speaks volumes about the maturation of our economy away from the near-total reliance on tourism and housing into something more diversified and well managed.
Our state’s fiscal management has been exceptional. There’s not another large state even close to being as well run as Florida. What’s most impressive over the past year, however, has been Florida education gains. At #7 overall, led by the best overall college values in the country, when was the last time that Florida ranked top ten in education? If you guessed never, you’d be correct. This is certainly an under-told story. Not everything is sunshine and lollipops, we’re still trailing the national average for opportunity and crime despite impressive gains over the past decade. But, the overall progress and our outstanding economy are really great stories.
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