Pennsylvania Named 22nd Most Innovative State

According to Bloomberg, Pennsylvania is about average when compared to innovation in states in the country.

The Keystone State placed 22nd overall, with an innovation score of 51.83.

Nearby New Jersey ranked fourth overall, while Massachusetts led all states on the list.

“Innovation usually leads to job creation, and high-skilled job creation, mostly,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, toBloomberg. “But there are other jobs that come with it, namely, that as the labor force grows, they need haircuts, they need landscapers, all that stuff — so it does tend to have linkages to other parts of the economy.”

The Bloomberg U.S. Innovation Index scored each of the 50 states on a 0 to 100 scale across six equally weighted metrics:

• R&D intensity;
• productivity;
• high-tech density;
• concentration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) employment;
• science and engineering degree holders;
• and patent activity.

Pennsylvania scored a total of 51.83, ranking 22 in R&D intensity, 19 in productivity, 32 in high-tech density, 23 in STEM concentration, 26 in science and engineering degree holders and a 17 in patent activity.

The bottom five states in innovation were Louisiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, West Virginia and Mississippi.

The data also show the limits of measuring healthy innovation. For example, the migration of talent across state lines can be difficult to measure and often captured only on delay, such as through U.S. Census bureau figures.

Read the full report here.