OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The report is from WalletHub, looking at all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It puts Iowa dead last, at #51, and Nebraska at #43.
First Alert 6 asked WalletHub for a breakdown of their analysis on Iowa and Nebraska, which looked at “28 key indicators of economic performance and strength.”
First Alert 6 then passed that data along to UNO’s Director of the Center for Public Affairs Research, Dr. Josie Gatti Schafer.
Dr. Gatti Schafer said there are many ways to measure a state’s economy. She said it’s important to investigate the specifics of an analysis before jumping to any conclusions.
“On several variables, I would say Iowa and Nebraska top the list, particularly when it comes to things like labor force participation rates, employment rates, low employment rates. We’re just a really hardworking set of states,” said Dr. Gatti Schafer.
She noted that WalletHub’s study looked at many innovation-driven aspects of an economy, such as start-up activity, jobs in high-tech industries, and investment in research and development. The data shows those are areas where Iowa and Nebraska are largely behind the pack.
“Those are areas where we really could benefit from public policy as well as investments from existing private sector businesses and collaboration between the private and government sector to really focus on the future of our economy and how we’ll be competitive for years to come,” explained Dr. Gatti Schafer.
She said having good educational opportunities for young people to learn the skills they need for high-paying, high-tech jobs plays a huge role in spurring future economic development.
While Nebraska ranked eight positions higher than Iowa in the report, in many areas the states scored similarly, and in some Iowa out-ranked Nebraska.
That includes median annual income, which was slightly higher in Iowa than Nebraska when adjusted for cost of living, at $74,777 in Iowa versus $74,365 in Nebraska.
Growth in personal income was also slightly higher in Iowa than Nebraska. Iowa ranked #49 in the country with 2.35% growth and Nebraska ranked #50 with 2.10% growth.
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