BALTIMORE, MD—With the U.S. spending over $600 billion per year on R&D, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2023’s Most & Least Innovative States.

Maryland came in at No 4 on the list, behind the District of Columbia (1), Massachusetts (2), and Washington (3).  California rounded out the top five.

In order to give credit to the states that have contributed the most to America’s innovative success, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of STEM professionals to R&D spending per capita.

Innovation in Maryland (1=Most Innovative, 25=Avg.):

• 3rd – Share of STEM Professionals
• 1st – Projected STEM-Job Demand by 2030
• 3rd – Share of Science & Engineering Graduates Aged 25+
• 4th – Share of Technology Companies
• 5th – R&D Spending per Capita
• 21st – Venture-Capital Funding per Capita

How can state policymakers encourage and facilitate innovation?

“I think the first thing that policymakers need to do is invest in innovation. Most of this investment will need to be, at least initially, in infrastructure,” said Sean Walker Ph.D., MBA, Interim Chair, MMIS; Chair, University Faculty Council (2021-2023 AY); Professor, University of Tennessee at Martin. “When you look at, essentially any state, most of the landmass is rural areas. These are some of the most technologically deficient areas and ones that need strong investment. The second thing that policymakers need to invest in is the innovators. Finding ways to either educate or train skilled labor to 1) innovate or 2) operate the innovations will become crucial for the sustainability of any initiatives.”

The full report can be viewed online here at WalletHub.

More in the video below.

Photo via Pixabay