Alabama moved up five places in a ranking that compares states' success in science and technology sectors.
The Milken Institute's State Technology and Science Index provides insight into the component factors that drive economic growth and innovation in high-tech sectors and aims to help shed some light on why some states are more effective than others in this regard.
In the November 2022 report, Alabama ranked 27th, an increase from its previous ranking of 32nd in 2020.
The Index compares states on five essential components of the innovation ecosystem: research and development inputs; risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure; human capital investment; technology and science workforce; and technology concentration and dynamism.
Over its 20-year history, the State Technology and Science Index has served as a benchmark for developing knowledge-based economies across the U.S. Since the publication of the initial Index in 2002, the role of human capital development, research, innovation and entrepreneurship connected to technology has become even more critical.
For 2022, Massachusetts remains in first place, as it has done in every Index since 2002. Driven partly by the more significant role its tech sector played leading up to and during the pandemic, California saw its ranking rise to second place for the first time in more than a decade. The remaining top five consist of Colorado, Maryland, and Utah, which, along with Washington in sixth place, have remained at the top of the rankings for the past three Indexes.
Oklahoma (46th), West Virginia (47th), Arkansas (48th), Louisiana (49th), and Mississippi (50th) make up the bottom five.
The most significant drop in this year’s rankings is South Carolina, which fell by eight places from 35th to 43rd overall, driven by a 12-place decline in Tech Concentration and Dynamism and a seven-place fall in Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure. Ohio fell six places from 24th to 30th, mainly due to an eight-place fall in Research and Development Inputs. On the positive side, Wyoming made a jump of eight spots from 39th to 31st, mainly due to a dramatic 15-rank increase in Tech Concentration and Dynamism. Nevada also showed a strong upswing of seven places from 46th to 39th, as capital inflows from places such as Silicon Valley saw a major jump in Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, from 41st to fifth.
