State trails Wisconsin, but beats Minnesota and Illinois.
Iowa ranks right in the middle in a new study of states’ 2015 economic outlook, coming in at 25th in the country.
The 8th annual Rich States, Poor States study from the American Legislative Exchange Council ranks the states on 15 issues of state policy, including minimum wage, workers’ compensation costs, property tax burden, sales tax burden and highest marginal personal income tax rate. Personal income tax relief has long been a priority for Iowa’s small business owners. Minimum wage became an issue this legislative session, with a bill to raise the minimum to $8.75 an hour by 2016.
The study ranked Utah ranked first overall, and New York last. Most of Iowa’s neighbors fared worse than it did: Minnesota was 48th, Illinois 40th, Nebraska 31st and Missouri 27th. Wisconsin, however, ranked 13th in the study. Iowa’s ranking was the same as last year’s.
In the study’s Economic Performance Ranking, which measures gross domestic product, migration and employment over the last 10 years, Iowa ranked 21st. In that measure, Texas finished first and Michigan last.
