Are Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota Thriving or Failing Economically?

Almost everywhere you look in the United States these days there's a reminder of the economic fallout from COVID-19.

In the last two years, we've seen businesses close or scale back operations on a massive scale, price increases on almost everything, and supply chain challenges that have impacted all sectors of manufacturing.

And while none of us have escaped the economic impact of the pandemic, some individual states have weathered the storm better than others.

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To see which states are now thriving and which are failing, GOBankingRates took a look at a variety of economic factors, from year-over-year gross domestic product (GDP) and unemployment rates to wage changes and the percentage of a state’s population that is living in poverty.

Minnesota is one of the bright spots.

The North Star State is 14th on the thriving list, fueled by a six percent increase in average weekly wages from September 2020 to September of 2021.

The state also saw a GDP growth of five percent over the final two quarters of 2021.

The percentage of Minnesota's population that was earning below the poverty line 2020 in 2020 was seven percent, which is tied for second-best among the 15 states that are currently thriving economically.

STATES WHERE ECONOMIES ARE THRIVING

1. New Hampshire
2. Massachusetts
3. Washington
4. California
5. Oregon
6. Utah
7. Nevada
8. New Jersey
9. Florida
10. Colorado

South Dakota and Iowa are having a more difficult time than Minnesota in the current economy.

The Mount Rushmore State is ninth on the list of states where economies are currently failing.

The state's 2020 rate of 11 percent of the population living under the poverty line is the seventh highest among the top ten, while a GDP growth of just 0.3 percent is second only the North Dakota (-1.8%) among the top ten states.

Iowa checks in at number 11 on the failing list.

The Hawkeye State saw its GDP drop by 2.3 percent over the last two quarters of 2021 and had more than nine percent of its population living below the poverty line in 2020.

STATES WHERE ECONOMIES ARE FAILING

1. Michigan
2. South Carolina
3. Arkansas
4. North Dakota
5. Kansas
6. Alabama
7. Ohio
8. New Mexico
9. South Dakota
10. Kentucky