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
Indicator Normalization & Scoring
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Benchmarking: Raw indicator values are mapped against established global minimum, median, and maximum distribution bounds.
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Sub-metric Standardization: Indicators are normalized to relative 0–100 percentile scores (inverting cost/burden metrics where lower is favorable).
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Pillar Aggregation: Sub-metric scores are weighted within each domain to generate a 0–100 score for each of the 4 pillars.
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Composite Index Calculation:
Composite Score = (0.30 x Pillar 1) + (0.25 x Pillar 2) + (0.25 x Pillar 3) + (0.20 x Pillar 4)
Classification & Benchmarking Output
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State Ranking: Economies are ranked 1 to 50 based on their composite index.
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Performance Tiers: Jurisdictions are categorized into distinct comparative cohorts (e.g., Tier 1: Global Frontier, Tier 2: Advanced Competitor).
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Primary Pillar Advantage: Identifies each economy's leading structural driver (e.g., Innovation Ecosystem vs. Scale & Vitality) relative to its peer group.
COMPETITIVENESS SWOT
Rhode Island
Strengths
• Ranked #2 nationally in Educational Quality (Brown, RISD, Naval War College)• Prime Atlantic maritime access via the Port of Davisville for logistics and vehicle imports• Strong ocean economy, naval defense industry, and high quality-of-life amenities
Weaknesses
• Small economic scale ($88.2B GDP; #44) limiting economic diversification• High cost of living (#40), high tax environment (#43 tax rank), and aging public transit• Structural economic growth challenges and high infrastructure repair costs
Opportunities
• Blue Economy expansion (ocean tech, offshore wind, marine biotech, aquaculture)• Specialized design, creative technology, and digital innovation clusters• Maritime tourism development and defense tech enterprise innovation
Threats
• Severe coastal storm damage, sea-level rise, and Atlantic climate impacts• Intense regional competition for talent from Boston and NYC metros• Demographically constrained labor force and workforce development hurdles
METRICS DEEPDIVE
Economic Scale & Vitality
GDP
Trade
Trade Overall Rank | Trade Surplus / Deficit | Exports in Millions USD | Total US Overall Exports 2026 YTD | Export % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | -$3,611 | $3,660 | $1,639,475 | 0.22% |
Imports in Millions USD | Total US Overall Imports 2026 YTD | Import % |
|---|---|---|
$7,271 | $2,415,187 | 0.30% |