R.I. places No. 35 on Best States to Make a Living ranking

RHODE ISLAND RANKED No. 35 on the Best States To Make a Living 2019 report from MoneyRates.com. / PBN FILE PHOTO/CHRIS BERGENHEIM
RHODE ISLAND RANKED No. 35 on the Best States To Make a Living 2019 report from MoneyRates.com. / PBN FILE PHOTO/CHRIS BERGENHEIM

PROVIDENCE – The Ocean State ranked in the bottom half of the country in a ranking of the best states to make a living.

MoneyRates.com ranked Rhode Island No. 35 in the nation and No. 4 in New England in a ranking that considered cost of living, median income, tax burden, the unemployment rate and work-related injury, illness and fatality rates.

Rhode Island was said to have a cost of living of 122.3% of the U.S. cost of living, using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. The cost of living was among the highest in the nation, as was the rest of New England.

The state’s median wage of $42,040 was among one of the highest 15 in the nation. The state’s tax burden was among the 20 lowest in the nation at 2.6%.

- Advertisement -

The Rhode Island unemployment rate used in the study was also middle of the pack at 3.9%. Meanwhile, the state had among the lowest work-related injury, illness and fatality rates in the nation, along with New Jersey and New Hampshire.

Wyoming ranked No. 1 overall for 2019, followed by Washington and Texas. New Hampshire was the highest-ranking New England state at No. 19. Hawaii ranked last in the report, followed by Oregon, California and Maine.

The report primarily used statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and internal data, along with third-party experts.

New England states in the Best States to Make a Living 2019 rankings:

  • New Hampshire: No. 19
  • Massachusetts: No.26
  • Connecticut: No. 33
  • Rhode Island: No. 34
  • Vermont:No. 45
  • Maine: No. 47

The full report may be viewed online.

No posts to display