Category

Strengths (S)

Weaknesses (W)

Opportunities (O)

Threats (T)

Ease of Doing Business

Top-Tier Ecosystem: Ranks highly in Education (#2 nationally), Technology & Innovation, and Access to Capital. Named the Most Improved State for Business in a 2025 CNBC ranking.

High Cost of Business: Ranks as the second-most expensive state for doing business in the US (after Hawaii) due to high real estate, labor, and taxes.

Strategic Industry Focus: New legislation (e.g., Mass Leads Act) and strategic plans focus on supporting high-growth emerging industries like climatetech and Applied AI.

Tax Competitiveness: Poor ranking in the State Tax Competitiveness Index (e.g., #41 overall) can deter companies seeking low-cost, high-volume production locations.

Domestic Manufacturing

Defense & High-Tech: Robust defense sector and advanced manufacturing (chemicals, computer & electronic products, machinery) provide stability and high-value output.

Employment Decline: The overall manufacturing sector has seen negative job growth recently (2025), a slower pace than the national trend, indicating contraction.

AI and Climatetech Integration: Leveraging the state's technology and innovation ecosystem to transition manufacturing toward AI-related products (e.g., semiconductors) and climatetech solutions.

Regional Headwinds: Slower economic growth across New England, combined with below-average wage growth and above-average inflation, creates a challenging operating environment.

Sustainability Initiatives

Policy Leadership: Aggressive climate goals and a roadmap (Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025/2030) set clear pathways for decarbonization and investment.

Implementation Challenge: Achieving deep, sector-specific emissions sublimits by 2030 requires massive, costly, and potentially disruptive transformations across energy, transportation, and building sectors.

Climatetech Hub: Positioned as the global hub for the climatetech industry, excelling in offshore wind, grid efficiency, and EV charging, and attracting billions in investment.

Federal Policy Uncertainty: A potential shift away from climate innovation at the federal level could reduce investment flows and put pressure on state-level funding and tax incentives.

Balance of Trade

High-Value Exports: Exports are driven by sophisticated manufactured products, primarily chemicals, computer/electronics, and machinery (supported an estimated 103K jobs in 2022).

Trade Deficits: Like the US overall, the state likely runs a trade deficit, though it is a net exporter of high-value services (not fully detailed in goods data).

Global AI Trade Surge: The state is well-positioned to capitalize on the surge in global trade for AI-related goods (e.g., chips, server equipment) due to its strong tech ecosystem.

Global Trade Volatility: High reliance on international trade makes the economy sensitive to rising global tariffs and trade barriers that could disrupt high-tech supply chains and export markets.