The scores are in

Oklahoma slips in new economic rankings

The annual Prosperity Now Scorecard uses the most recent data available to offer a comprehensive look at Americans’ ability to save and build wealth, escape poverty, and create a more prosperous future. For Oklahoma in 2018, the scorecard paints a picture of families struggling just to make ends meet. Oklahoma’s ranking of 40th among all 50 states continues our decline from 37th last year and 34th the year before. On just about every measure in Oklahoma, things are getting worse.

Oklahoma did rank fairly well for businesses and jobs (13th). We had a smaller-than-average gap in the value of businesses owned by people of color and women and an increase in the percentage of employers offering health insurance (52 percent). However, the percentage of jobs in Oklahoma classified as low-wage increased to 29 percent, indicating that many jobs still don’t pay enough to support a family.

Oklahoma also scored relatively well in homeownership and housing.  We saw a decline in the percentage of delinquent mortgage loans and a small reduction in the percentage of Oklahomans spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.

Courtney Cullison is a policy analyst with Oklahoma Policy Institute. Find the rest of this article and more at okpolicy.com.