(The Center Square) – Georgia dropped two spots in the 18th annual Rich States, Poor States report from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The Peach State ranked 13th for its economic outlook, down from 11 in 2024 and 12th in 2023.
The state’s lowest score was in tort systems costs, which measures tort costs’ possible share of the state’s gross domestic product based on the report Tort Costs in America from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Georgia’s was 2.6%, 46th among the states based on 2022 data included in the report.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a comprehensive tort reform package that would limit some liability awards and protect businesses from lawsuits for acts outside of their control. Gov. Brian Kemp made the issue a priority and is signing the bill Monday.
The state ranked 25th for its top marginal income tax rate at 5.39%. Kemp signed a bill Tuesday that would reduce the state income tax rate to 5.19%.
The authors of the report gave the state top marks for two employment metrics. Georgia’s minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal rate, and the state is a right-to-work state. The state also was tied for first with other states that have no estate or inheritance tax.
Georgia ranked 9th for its economic performance. The state has seen an influx of new residents, more than 408,000 between 2013 and 2023, which placed the state at 6th, according to the report.
The state’s gross domestic product was 77.91% for the same ten-year period, earning the state the 9th spot.
Utah took the top spot for economic outlook in the report, with Tennessee, Indiana, North Carolina and North Dakota rounding out the top five. Among Georgia’s neighbors not in the top five, Florida ranked 15th, Alabama 20th and South Carolina 29th.
The bottom five states are Illinois, California, New Jersey, Vermont and New York.
The report was co-authored by Reagan economist Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, policy expert Stephen Moore, and ALEC president and chief economist Jonathan Williams.
