State Technology and Science Index 2020
The State Technology and Science Index (STSI) provides a benchmark for evaluating the knowledge economies of all 50 US states. The index compares each state’s capacity for attaining prosperity through science discovery and technological innovation. This is achieved through analysis of their rankings on key indicators, using the latest available data from US federal government and private-sector sources.
The index is a composite of five sub-indexes: research and development (R&D) inputs, risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure, human capital investment, technology and science workforce, and technology concentration and dynamism. By comparing how states rank in these areas, the index assesses their capacities for generating new science ideas, as well as for commercializing technologies that contribute to firm expansion, high-skills job creation, and broad-based economic growth.
The index provides a guide to understanding why states face different challenges. It presents a snapshot of how state-level science and technology economies compare to one another at a specific time, rather than how individual states have changed over a long-term period.
Within these parameters, the overall index rankings—as well as the rankings on each sub-index—help states evaluate the foundation for further development of their knowledge economies.