Overview:
PwC released the State Financial Position Index (SFPI) and competitiveness posture report in 2015 that shed light on the actual and relative financial position and financial posture of states so that stakeholders will have a better understanding of where their state stands as compared to others. We have updated the rankings of the relative financial condition and competitive posture of the 50 states in the United States.
The rankings are based on financial information contained in the audited financial statements for each state for Fiscal 2015 as summarized by the Institute for Truth in Accounting, and a composite ranking of each state’s competitive posture in 2016 based on independent assessments by CEO Magazine, CNBC and Forbes. The report also includes disclosure of whether each state had a net positive or negative migration for the period July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016 according to the US Census Bureau.
The overall rankings for the states did not change dramatically from the prior year. Most of the states with better relative financial positions also rank highly in competitiveness and are net inbound states. Conversely, most of the states with a poor relative financial positions rank low in competitiveness and are net outbound states. As a result, the higher ranked states generally are better positioned for the future while the lower ranked states need to engage in a range of transformational reforms in order to help create a better future. The single largest challenge for most of the lower ranked states is unfunded pension and retiree health care obligations.