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Massachusetts overtakes Connecticut in ranking of richest states

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An annual ranking of the richest and poorest states by 24/7 Wall St. shows Connecticut has slipped from the 4th wealthiest state in the nation to the 6th in the past two years, trading places with Massachusetts.

Although Connecticut remains in the top ten nationally, it was overtaken by its neighbor to the north in terms of median income growth, unemployment rate and population growth.

 

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The rankings are based on 2016 data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Between 2014 and 2016, Connecticut’s median income grew 4.8 percent, according to the figures presented in each ranking. However, Massachusetts saw its median income grow 8.8 percent during that same time period.

Nationally, median income grew 7.3 percent between 2014 and 2016, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Massachusetts also has a lower unemployment rate at 3.7 percent as opposed to Connecticut’s 5.1 percent.

The rankings showed Connecticut lost population during those two years, whereas Massachusetts grew by more than 66,000 people.

The news may be unsurprising to some as Connecticut has seen two large corporations – General Electric and Alexion – announce they are moving their headquarters to Boston. Connecticut also loses residents to Massachusetts, according to a study conducted by the Office of Policy and Management.

Connecticut has continued to struggle economically since the 2008 recession, having regained only 78 percent of the jobs lost during the downturn, while Massachusetts has regained 293 percent of the jobs lost.

Nationally, Connecticut remains one of the last states to recover from the recession.

Connecticut has also seen slow personal income growth. According to a study by Pew Charitable Trusts, Connecticut had one of the slowest income growth rates in the nation of only .9 percent since 2007, well below the national average of 1.7 percent

Maryland maintained its designation as the richest state in the nation.

 

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Marc E. Fitch

Marc E. Fitch is the author of several books and novels including Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science and Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot. Marc was a 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow and his work has appeared in The Federalist, American Thinker, The Skeptical Inquirer, World Net Daily and Real Clear Policy. Marc has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Connecticut State University. Marc can be reached at [email protected]

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