14 Core Economic Indicators National Ranking
Economic Scale & Vitality National Ranking
Innovation & Enterprise National Ranking
Human & Capital Living National Ranking
Structural & Policy National Ranking
STATE PERFORMANCE GAUGE CHARTS
US STATES ECONOMIC & INNOVATION COMPETITIVENESS
An executive-grade benchmarking index developed by theboardiQ LLC to evaluate and rank the macroeconomic strength, innovation capacity, and structural competitiveness of 50 States in the United States.
Designed for corporate board directors, institutional investors, and policymakers, the index synthesizes raw macroeconomic and institutional data into a standardized 0–100 Composite Score across 4 Strategic Macro Pillars and 14 Underlying Sub-Metrics.
The Executive Dashboard incorporates a boardroom governance matrix mapping strategic mandates, benchmark metrics, director compensation, and critical oversight inquiries across 9 Board Roles/Industry Lens
COMPETITIVENESS SWOT
Nebraska
Strengths
• Top-ranked labor force participation (#1; 69.2%) and low unemployment rate (2.9%)• Agricultural powerhouse (#4 nationally; beef, corn, soybeans) & food processing hub• Central location with 5 Fortune 500 headquarters (including Berkshire Hathaway)
Weaknesses
• Heavy economic exposure to global agricultural commodity cycles• Brain drain of university graduates and slow population growth• Lower venture capital deal activity per capita (#36)
Opportunities
• Ag-tech research, precision farming tech, and automated equipment innovation• Renewable wind energy expansion and bio-fuel processing• Growth in logistics corridors and financial/insurance tech services
Threats
• Severe drought and depletion risks affecting agricultural irrigation• International trade barriers and tariff shifts impacting farm exports• Acute labor shortages across rural industrial and agricultural sectors
METRICS DEEPDIVE
Economic Scale & Vitality
GDP
Trade
Trade Overall Rank | Trade Surplus / Deficit | Exports in Millions USD | Total US Overall Exports 2026 YTD | Export % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | $1,105 | $4,848 | $1,639,475 | 0.30% |
Imports in Millions USD | Total US Overall Imports 2026 YTD | Import % |
|---|---|---|
$3,743 | $2,415,187 | 0.15% |