Tennessee's economic growth pace has been in the top third of all states over the past decade and the Volunteer State ranked No. 8 for domestic immigration in the past 10 years by attracting residents from other states.
But the 14th annual ranking of "Rich States and Poor States" by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council left Tennessee out of the top 10 economic competitive states this year for the first time in three years. Tennessee, which had been ranked No. 8 each of the previous two years for its economic growth and pro-growth policies in ALEC's analysis, dropped to No. 12 in the new list released Tuesday.
Art Laffer, the former chief economist for Ronald Reagan who has championed Tennessee's economic policies since he relocated from California to Nashville, joked that the balloting for this year's ranking "must have been miscounted."
"Tennessee dropped so dramatically in the rankings it is shocking to me, but I'll overlook that this year," Laffer quipped Tuesday.
Most economically competitive states
In the 2021 economic outlook rating of the states, conservative economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore compare15 indices of economic performance.
1. Utah
2. Florida
3. Oklahoma
4. Wyoming
5. North Carolina
6. Indiana
7. Nevada
8. North Dakota
9. Texas
10. South Dakota
Source: Rich States, Poor States study by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Tennessee ranked No. 12, Georgia No.14 and Alabama No 25. The worst states, in order, are New York, Vermont, New Jersey and Illinois.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner