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California found to be an innovation leader, Texas an export leader, Mississippi tracks highest declines in poverty, North Dakota a GSP leader

January 24, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Curious about job growth in your state? GSP? How incomes in your state compare to those in other states? A new first of its kind website tracks each of these key economic indicators, and more, allowing users to track and compare dozens of economic trends over time in all 50 states. The nonprofit nonpartisan California-based organization Next 10 today launches Compare50.org, a new web tool that allows users to view, track and compare more than 60 economic indicators to dynamically compare economies of the 50 states, with a focus on the economy, innovation, jobs, and income and equity.

A sample of findings from the new web tool include:

• California's per capita real GSP growth was slightly higher than the U.S. as a whole from 1991-2011, with Oregon and North Dakota displaying the highest levels of growth in the nation over that time period.
• Comparing the total number of patents granted in California to Texas and New York, California comes out ahead with 30,750 patents in 2011, Texas with 8,045 and New York with 7,842.
• Looking at exports for the same three states as a percent of their GDP, Texas leads the pack at 19.18%, with California and New York slightly lagging the U.S. with exports at 9.88% of GDP, with 8.12% and 7.33% accordingly. 
• Comparing California earnings with those in New York and Texas, New York state residents enjoy the highest median weekly earnings taking home $712 per week in 2011. California's median weekly earnings stood at $663 in the same year, and Texas reported $600 in median weekly earnings.
• Looking long-term at changes in the poverty rate over 20 years, California's rate has grown by nearly 4 percentage points from 1990-2011, while Mississippi's rate dropped by over 5.5 percentage points over the same time period. Rhode Island saw the highest increase in the country, tracking a 5.5 percentage point rise in poverty.

"State economic performance has a profound impact on how we live, and work, when we can retire and if we can afford to send our kids off to college. Our goal at Next 10 is to provide a tool that allows all Americans to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their state economies," said F. Noel Perry , businessman and founder of the nonprofit nonpartisan Next 10.

Using the Compare50 tool, anyone can track wage growth, housing, Gross State Product (GSP), patents, venture capital funding, exports, weekly hours, the unemployment rate, duration of unemployment, layoff details, annual earnings, weekly earnings, income distribution measures, and poverty rate. Users can also look at demographics across states and compare indicators such as education levels, population, and age.

Compare50.org displays the most recent annual data through 2011 and will be updated in the coming months to include 2012 data. For many indicators, the website includes 20 years of data and users are able to view trends over this time period.

The website draws on data gathered and analyzed for a new Next 10 report authored by Dr. David Neumark and Jennifer Muz at the Center for Economics & Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine. The report, How Does California's Economic Performance Compare to Other States?, examines key economic indicators and trends in California. Top findings include:

• In 2011, California's overall economic performance (including economic growth, jobs, earnings, income distribution and poverty rate) tracks on par with most states.
• While California has seen significant recent drops in unemployment (2010 to 2011), over the long-term (1991-2011) job growth in California has been sluggish, with a higher unemployment rate than most states.
• Over the last two decades, there has been real income growth for high-income families across the country and in California, but no significant growth at the middle of the income distribution and declines at the bottom. When compared to California, many states register larger income disparity increases (1991-2011).
• In California, GSP grows faster during good economic times, but drops more sharply during tougher economic times.

"Next 10 has a long-standing interest in understanding critical economic issues important to California's future, and in making those issues more accessible to all Californians," said Perry. "With our new Compare50 website, we're expanding beyond our state borders so that all Americans can have access to this important information."

Compare50.org has been launched as a highly interactive Beta website. In the months to follow, Next 10 hopes to receive feedback that can be used to guide the development of future iterations.

About Next 10
Next 10 is an independent, nonpartisan organization that educates, engaged and empowers Californians to improve the state's future. Next 10 is focused on innovation and the intersection between the economy, the environment, and quality of life issues for all Californians. Next 10 employs research from leading experts on complex state issues and creates a portfolio of nonpartisan educational materials to foster a deeper understanding of the critical issues affecting our state.

About the Researchers
The research for compare50.org was performed by Dr. David Neumark and Jennifer Muz at the University of California at Irvine, with additional research by Beacon Economics.

SOURCE Next 10