50. Hawaii

Infrastructure and workforce are poor in the Aloha State, and costs are high. But that does buy the nation’s best quality of life.

Category
Score
2015 Rank
2014 Rank
Workforce 162 46 49
Cost of Doing Business 45 50 49
Infrastructure 94 49 43
Economy 123 42 (Tie) 34
Quality of Life 310 1 1
Technology & Innovation 93 36 (Tie) 33
Education 67 45 42
Business Friendliness 35 44 44
Cost of Living 2 50 49
Access to Capital 14 37 33
Overall 945 50 49

Economic Profile

Governor: David Ige, Democrat

Population: 1,419,561

GDP growth: 0.8 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2015): 4.1 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 6.4 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 11 percent

Gasoline tax: 65 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aa2/stable

Major private employer: Bank of Hawaii, Corp.

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hawaii FY 2014 CAFR

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