Posted by: Adam McCann

Americans value independence. We fought hard for it during the American Revolutionary War. Today, however, we celebrate not only our freedom from the British crown but also our strong ability to rely upon ourselves as individuals. It’s a virtue we bring up in our children, employees and organizations.

But what does it mean for whole populations to be “independent” in the modern sense of the word?

In this report, WalletHub’s data team addressed that question by comparing the 50 states based on five sources of dependency: consumer finances, the government, the job market, international trade and personal vices. We broke down these categories into 39 key indicators of independence in order to determine which states are most self-sustaining. Read on for our findings, methodology and expert advice on overcoming our reliance on others.

To get a sense of just how free Americans are feeling financially, check out WalletHub’s nationally representative Fourth of July Credit Card Survey.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/36426/geochart-independent.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2ISs0SB>  

Most Independent States

Overall Rank (1 = Most Independent)	State	Total Score	‘Financial Dependency’ Rank	‘Government Dependency’ Rank	‘Job-Market Dependency’ Rank	‘International-Trade Dependency’ Rank	‘Vice Dependency’ Rank
1	Utah	67.05	7	2	4	16	7
2	Nebraska	63.77	3	4	1	28	24
3	Massachusetts	63.61	10	9	6	27	3
4	Minnesota	63.56	1	7	8	19	27
5	Colorado	63.32	22	8	10	5	42
6	Wisconsin	62.83	13	13	9	15	14
7	South Dakota	62.83	26	21	5	7	11
8	Virginia	62.32	24	11	21	12	9
9	Hawaii	62.02	21	16	25	9	6
10	Kansas	61.83	14	1	15	25	38
11	Iowa	61.78	5	10	3	30	26
12	Idaho	61.73	23	26	2	6	23
13	Montana	59.56	11	39	24	1	30
14	New Hampshire	58.40	2	19	12	35	19
15	Wyoming	57.79	6	35	43	4	25
16	Delaware	57.66	20	3	31	38	29
17	Oklahoma	57.43	34	34	17	3	39
18	Connecticut	57.08	19	15	44	36	2
19	California	56.74	36	17	35	21	12
20	Florida	56.73	38	23	40	10	15
21	Pennsylvania	55.91	12	31	36	20	18
22	Missouri	55.85	25	30	26	11	43
23	New Jersey	55.54	31	6	48	37	4
24	North Carolina	55.37	29	12	30	32	36
25	Rhode Island	55.11	33	28	34	18	17
26	Vermont	55.05	9	40	13	24	22
27	Washington	54.99	4	18	19	44	13
28	New York	54.98	42	32	41	22	1
29	North Dakota	54.43	8	29	14	40	21
30	Maryland	54.32	32	37	39	8	28
31	Illinois	54.21	35	5	42	39	20
32	Nevada	53.98	45	20	29	14	47
33	Arizona	53.41	41	43	22	17	10
34	Texas	52.04	15	14	20	48	16
35	Ohio	52.01	30	25	37	34	35
36	Michigan	51.90	27	24	27	43	8
37	Maine	51.74	16	44	23	23	40
38	Georgia	51.46	47	22	32	33	31
39	Arkansas	50.90	50	27	16	13	50
40	New Mexico	50.55	44	48	49	2	5
41	Oregon	50.37	17	41	28	26	48
42	Tennessee	49.31	39	38	11	42	32
43	Indiana	48.75	28	33	7	45	41
44	West Virginia	44.72	37	47	47	31	37
45	Alabama	44.49	48	45	38	41	34
46	South Carolina	42.01	40	42	18	50	33
47	Louisiana	41.87	46	36	45	46	46
48	Mississippi	40.58	49	50	46	29	49
49	Alaska	39.23	18	49	50	47	45
50	Kentucky	38.60	43	46	33	49	44

 

Ask the Experts

Reliance on others can be challenging to overcome. For the best ways to achieve greater independence in several of the dependency categories we examined in this report, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. Is it fair that some states are more dependent than others on the federal government?
2. What tips do you have for a person who wishes to increase his or her financial independence? What are some first steps?
3. What tips do you have for a person who wishes to reduce his or her job dependency? Should they try to join the “gig” economy?
4. Should presidential campaigns be publicly funded in order to help ensure the president is as independent as possible from special interests?
5. Should states try to make their economies more or less dependent on international trade? How?

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• Jeffrey Lyons Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, School of Public Service, Boise State University
• Cal Jillson Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University
• Anthony Solari Ph.D. – Teaching Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University
• Louis Caldera Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law, Senior Affiliate, Program on Law and Government, American University

Methodology

In order to determine the most independent states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across five key dimensions: 1) Financial Dependency, 2) Government Dependency, 3) Job-Market Dependency, 4) International-Trade Dependency and 5) Vice Dependency.

We evaluated those dimensions using 39 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of independence.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Financial Dependency – Total Points: 20

• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Share of Households with Rainy-Day & Emergency Funds: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s economic inclusion survey and measures to the percentage of households who saved for unexpected expenses or emergencies in the past 12 months.
• Share of Adults Saving for Children’s College Education: Double Weight (~2.35 Points)Note: “Adults” include individuals with financially dependent children.
• Employer-Based Retirement Access & Participation: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Median Debt per Income: Double Weight (~2.35 Points)
• Median Household Income (Adjusted by Cost of Living Index): Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Age Dependency Ratio: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)Notes: Age dependency ratio is the ratio of dependents – a people younger than 15 years or older than 64 years – to the working-age population – those ages 15-64 years.
• Share of Millennials Living with Their Parents: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Share of Low-Income Households where No Adults Work: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Share of “Underwater” Mortgages: Double Weight (~2.35 Points)Note: This metric measures the share of homes with mortgages that have negative equity.
• Homeownership Rate: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)
• Bankruptcy Rate: Full Weight (~1.18 Points)

Government Dependency – Total Points: 20

• Federal Dependence: Quadruple Weight (~10.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Most & Least Federally Dependent States” ranking.
• Share of Household Receiving Public Assistance & SNAP/Food Stamps: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: “SNAP” refers to the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
• Share of Occupied Subsidized Housing Units: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Share of Federal-, State- & Local-Government Employees: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Tax Freedom Day: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)Note: “Tax Freedom Day” refers to the day when the state’s taxpayers have collectively earned enough money to pay their federal, state and local tax bills for the year. This metric measures the number of days since the beginning of the year that the event takes place (sooner indicates greater independence).

Job-Market Dependency – Total Points: 20

• Industry Variety: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Job Growth Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Long-Term Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: This metric measures the share of the unemployed who had been jobless for 27 weeks or longer.
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Job Creation Index: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: This metric is based on Gallup’s “Job Creation Index” and measures the share of workers who reported that their employer is increasing its workforce minus the percentage reporting the opposite.

International-Trade Dependency – Total Points: 20

• Share of Jobs Supported by Exported Goods: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Private-Industry Employment at Foreign-Owned Firms: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of State GDP Generated by Exports to Other Countries: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)

Vice Dependency – Total Points: 20

• Share of Adult Drug Users: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: “Drug Users” refer to individuals who reported using illicit drugs in the past month.
• Retail Opioid Prescriptions Dispensed per 100 Persons: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Share of Adult Binge Drinkers: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Share of Adult Daily Smokers: Double Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Share of Adults with Gambling Disorders: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Share of Population Spending More than They Earn: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Share of Social-Network Users: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: “Users” refer to the population aged 15 years and older.
• Share of Online-Video Watchers: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: “Watchers” refer to the population aged 15 years and older.
• Share of Smart-Device Users: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)Note: “Users” refer to the population aged 3 years and older.
• Median Daily Time Spent Watching TV: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)
• Average Time Spent on Adult Entertainment Sites: Full Weight (~1.67 Points)

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 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Council for Community and Economic Research, Zillow, Tax Foundation, United Health Foundation, Gallup, International Trade Administration, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Council on Problem Gambling, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, TransUnion, Renwood RealtyTrac, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and WalletHub research.

Image: Steve Allen / Shutterstock.com

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