Utah ranks #1 in the American Legislative Exchange Counsel’s “Rich States, Poor States” index for 2018.
The annual rankings look at 15 factors including:
- Personal income tax rate
- Corporate tax rate
- Property tax
- Sales tax
- Number of public employees
- Minimum wage
Utah comes out on top in the “Economic Outlook” rankings again. The state has been #1 every year since ALEC started their rankings in 2008.
In the individual rankings, Utah is mostly in the upper half in each category:
- 17th in personal income tax rate
- 10th in corporate income tax rate
- 17th in property tax burden
- 23rd in sales tax
Idaho, Indiana, North Dakota and Arizona round out the top-five in this category. Vermont and New York are at the bottom in these rankings.
Utah is #4 in the group’s annual economic performance rankings, which consider three factors:
- GDP growth from 2006-2016. Utah ranks 5th with 48.3%.
- Domestic migration from 2007-2016. Utah is 13th during that period.
- Non-farm employment growth from 2006-2016. Utah is 3rd at 18.36%.
Texas takes the top spot in economic performance, followed by Washington, North Dakota, Utah and Colorado. New Jersey and Connecticut are at the bottom of those rankings.
