Montana Ranked 9th for Overall Financial Condition

State fiscal condition is multifaceted and difficult to measure. Using a method developed in
previous research,
I
create the cash, budget, long
–
run, and service
–
level solvency indices using
fiscal year 2012 data to measure the dimensions of fiscal conditio
n. The five states with the
highest
–
ranked overall fiscal condition are Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and
Wyoming. The five states with the lowest
–
ranked fiscal condition are New Jersey, Connecticut,
Illinois, Massachusetts, and California.
The top five states all had a surplus in fiscal year 2012 as
measured by an increase in net assets, but there are differences in their underlying strengths.

I
find that the states with the worst fiscal condition have had years of poor financial management
across the different dimensions of fiscal condition.

by Sarah Arnett

http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/Arnett_StateFiscalCondition_v1.pdf