With the U.S. spending over $800 billion per year on R&D, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Most & Least Innovative States, as well as expert commentary.
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 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of STEM professionals to R&D spending per capita.
| Most Innovative States | Least Innovative States |
| 1. District of Columbia | 42. Ohio |
| 2. Massachusetts | 43. Oklahoma |
| 3. California | 44. Iowa |
| 4. Colorado | 45. Kentucky |
| 5. Washington | 46. Kansas |
| 6. Maryland | 47. Arkansas |
| 7. Virginia | 48. North Dakota |
| 8. Delaware | 49. West Virginia |
| 9. Utah | 50. Louisiana |
| 10. New Jersey | 51. Mississippi |
Key Stats
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of STEM professionals, which is 3.1 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest.
- Delaware has the highest share of technology companies, which is 4.3 times higher than in North Dakota, the lowest.
- New Mexico has the highest research and development (R&D) intensity, which is 15.9 times higher than in South Dakota, the lowest.
