Minnesota wins top grades for the second straight year in a ranking of the nation's state economies by the Washington D.C.-based Corporation for Enterprise Development. The annual survey uses 71 criteria to measure state-by-state economic development success in business vitality, development capacity and performance. Minnesota is one of only five states to earn A's in all three categories.
Minnesota also ranks in the top 10 in 29 measures, and first in, among other categories, basic educational skills for proficiency in reading and math, high school graduation, K-12 educational expenditures and college attainment.
Rankings were based on the overall performance of all states. Others with perfect scores: Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia.
—Kathy Cobb
