#1 Florida
#50 New Jersey
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State Fiscal Rankings | Mercatus Center
This ranking of the 50 states, reproduced from page 29 of the study, is based on their fiscal solvency in five separate categories:
Cash solvency. Does a state have enough cash on hand to cover its short-term bills?
Budget solvency. Can a state cover its fiscal year spending with current revenues, or does it have a budget shortfall?
Long-run solvency. Can a state meet its long-term spending commitments? Will there be enough money to cushion it from economic shocks or other long-term fiscal risks?
Service-level solvency. How much “fiscal slack” does a state have to increase spending if citizens demand more services?
Trust fund solvency. How large are each state’s unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities?