[5]
By Oregon Business & Industry [6],
Oregon drops: Oregon fell from 40th in 2023 to 46th in 2024, according to the Common Sense Institute’s (CSI) 2026 Free Enterprise Report. The state’s competitiveness rank has fallen 10 places since 2017, when Oregon ranked 36th, and 15 places since 2011, when the inaugural Free Enterprise Report appeared. Check out this year’s report here [7].
About the report: CSI ranks each state according to overall economic competitiveness and competitiveness in 10 subcategories: economic performance, education, energy, health care, housing, infrastructure, public safety, state budget, taxes & fees and workforce. Oregon is in the top half of states in only two of these areas and in the bottom half in the remaining nine.
Top 25 rankings: Oregon ranked among the top half of states in these areas in 2024:
- Infrastructure: 5th
- Energy: 19th
Bottom 25 rankings: Oregon ranked among the bottom half of states in these areas in 2024:
- Health care: 27th
- Economic performance: 31st
- Workforce: 35th
- Housing: 42nd
- State budget: 42nd
- Education: 46th
- Overall competitiveness: 46th
- Taxes & fees: 49th
- Public safety: 50th
Low ranking explained: Why has Oregon dropped to 46th? Among other things, the report notes, “Oregon’s competitiveness continues to suffer from high taxes, a strict regulatory environment, a persistent housing shortage, endemic homelessness, and public safety concerns.”