Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition, 2017 Edition

Based on the FY 2015 comprehensive annual financial reports of the 50 states, this study ranks states’ fiscal solvency using 13 metrics that assess the extent to which the states can pay short-term bills and meet longer-term obligations. State finances are analyzed according to five categories of solvency: cash, budget, longrun, service-level, and trust fund. These five categories are combined to produce an overall ranking of state fiscal solvency.