Report: R.I. lands in middle of most and least innovative states list

WALLETHUB SAID Rhode Island ranked 24th on its list of the most and least innovative states. / COURTESY WALLETHUB
WALLETHUB SAID Rhode Island ranked 24th on its list of the most and least innovative states. / COURTESY WALLETHUB

PROVIDENCE – When it comes to innovation, Rhode Island falls in the middle among the states, while Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire are among the top 10 best.

Rhode Island, at 24th, ranked higher than Vermont and Maine, which came in at 28th and 42nd on WalletHub’s latest list released Thursday of the “Most and Least Innovative States.”

The list includes Washington, D.C., which captured the No. 1 spot, followed by Maryland and Massachusetts. Connecticut came in at No. 9, with New Hampshire at No. 10.

The least innovative state on the list? West Virginia.

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The financial website said it looked at how innovative states are to find out how much they’ve contributed to America’s “innovative” success, in light of President Donald Trump “proposing the deepest budget cuts to federal research and development in history” for fiscal 2018.

Eighteen metrics were used, from the share of science, technology, engineering and math professionals, and research and design spending per capita to share of technology companies, tax friendliness based on Tax Foundation data, eighth-grade math and science performance, and high school advanced placement exam participation.

Rhode Island was noted for having the fourth-highest average Internet speed in the nation, behind Washington, D.C., Delaware and Massachusetts.

Massachusetts was among the top five in the following categories: Highest share of STEM professionals (No. 4); highest projected STEM-job demand by 2020 (No. 5); best eighth-grade math and science performance (No. 4); highest R&D spending per capita (No. 2); and it tied for first place in highest venture-capital funding per capita.

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