About Manufacturing Industry Health

The production of goods holds a particular place of interest in the U.S. economy. Manufacturing firms are not necessarily reliant on local demand for goods and are therefore footloose. Their location then depends more on local factors such as the quality and availability of the labor force, transportation infrastructure, non-wage labor costs, access to innovative technologies, and the cost of doing business. Manufacturing is the production of both consumer durable goods (e.g. automobiles, electronics, and home appliances) and consumer non-durable goods (e.g. clothing, processed foods, and other goods that are consumed after use).

To measure manufacturing industry health, we include three variables—the share of total income earned by manufacturing employees in each state, the wage premium paid to manufacturing workers relative to the other states’ employees, and the share of manufacturing employment per capita.

Sources: U.S. Department of the Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

2020 Manufacturing Industry Health

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Map

Table

State	Grade
Alabama	B
Alaska	F
Arizona	C
Arkansas	C
California	C
Colorado	D
Connecticut	C+
Delaware	D
Florida	D
Georgia	C-
Hawaii	F
Idaho	B
Illinois	C+
Indiana	A
Iowa	A
Kansas	B+
Kentucky	A
Louisiana	C+
Maine	C-
Maryland	D
Massachusetts	C-
Michigan	A
Minnesota	B-
Mississippi	B+
Missouri	C
Montana	F
Nebraska	C
Nevada	D-
New Hampshire	B
New Jersey	D+
New Mexico	F
New York	F
North Carolina	C
North Dakota	D
Ohio	B
Oklahoma	C
Oregon	B
Pennsylvania	C
Rhode Island	D+
South Carolina	A
South Dakota	C
Tennessee	B-
Texas	C
Utah	C
Vermont	C
Virginia	D-
Washington	C-
West Virginia	C
Wisconsin	B
Wyoming	D+

Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University

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2020 Manufacturing Industry Health