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Which states led in growth in 2013?

The Columbian
Published: December 29, 2013, 4:00pm

Governors, economic development offices and tourism agencies will seize on anything — any statistic — to set them apart from their competitors. And every time the government publishes statistics, someone has to be first. So let’s hand out some 2013 bragging rights for states.

Based on statistics published by various government agencies and compiled by several outside groups, these nine states, and one District, take the prize for the best of 2013:

Fastest job growth: If any state thrived during the great recession, it was North Dakota. The continued development in the western third of the state, fueled by growth in the Bakken oil field, meant North Dakota’s unemployment rate was sinking even as the rest of the country’s was growing.

That growth continued this year. As of November 2012, there were 437,000 jobs in North Dakota. As of November 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the state had 455,000 jobs — a 4 percent increase over the past year.

Fastest-sinking unemployment rate: In November 2012, North Carolina’s unemployment rate stood at 9.4 percent. Now, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the Tar Heel State’s unemployment rate is at 7.4 percent. That two-point drop was the steepest decline of any state year over year.

Fastest-growing wages: Workers in the District of Columbia saw their hourly wages rise faster than any of the 50 states over the past year. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported average hourly earnings jumped by 5.53 percent between the third quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of 2013. Colorado workers did best among the states, notching a 5.25 percent increase in hourly wages.

North Dakota workers saw their average weekly paychecks rise the most (Again, credit goes to the oil and gas industry). Average weekly earnings in North Dakota grew by 7.03 percent last year, edging weekly wages in the District of Columbia, which rose by 6.12 percent.

Fastest-rebounding tax collections: State income, sales and corporate tax revenues can indicate a rebounding economy — the more money coming in, the higher the tax collections. New Mexico economists project a 6.86 percent increase in tax revenue collections between fiscal years 2013 and 2014, the highest in the nation.

New Jersey and Alaska also expect revenue growth of more than 6 percent (Alaska changed its oil extraction tax structure this year, meaning the state will rely more on corporate taxes than it has in previous years).

Most frugal states: During the recession, most states had to rely on their rainy day funds to get them through difficult times. Now, as tax revenue rebounds, states are rebuilding those savings — and in many cases building bigger cushions than they had before.

Texas was most aggressive in rebuilding its rainy day fund this year. The state set aside more than $3.4 billion between fiscal year 2012 and 2013. California, which spent most of the great recession slashing government services to the core, set aside $2.4 billion for the next rainy day. And Florida and Ohio saved almost $1 billion.

Fastest-rebounding housing market: It’s good to be a homebuilder in New Jersey and West Virginia. The Census Bureau and the National Association of Homebuilders report both states have seen a 42 percent jump in building permits for single-family dwellings between 2012 and 2013.

Georgia, California and Florida, three states hit hard by the bursting housing bubble, will see big new housing booms; building permits in all three states have jumped by more than 35 percent.

States getting safer: What if the crime-fighting main characters in “Hawaii 5-0” went out of business? Hawaii’s crime rate has plunged by 25 percent since 2007, according to FBI data compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts. And Sin City is getting a lot less sinful: Nevada’s crime rate is down by the same margin.

Since 2007, the FBI reported crime rates declining by more than 20 percentage points in Florida, Maryland, Arizona and Wyoming. The crime rate has dropped by more than 10 percentage points in 35 states.

The crime rate has increased in only five states since 2007, the FBI said. The situation is getting worse in New Hampshire, where the rate is up 17 points in the last five years, and South Dakota, where crime is up 20 points over the same period.

So, congratulations to top officials in Colorado, North Dakota, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Jersey, West Virginia, Texas, Hawaii, Nevada and the District of Columbia: You won 2013, in some form or another.

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