Historical Data

The Historical Report of Opportunity is a measure of national opportunity levels for the past four decades, using publicly available data to provide a holistic picture of how the climate for opportunity has changed in all 50 states and Washington, DC.  Explore the indicators and state rankings below.

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State 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
United States 44.8 44.5 45.1 52.1 50.8
Alabama 32.4 36.6 37.3 44.2 43.1
Alaska 47 47.6 49.5 50.3 50.5
Arizona 44 42.9 43.8 48.8 44.2
Arkansas 30.9 37.8 38.1 45.8 43
California 47.3 44.3 43.6 50 50.4
Colorado 49.6 51.7 50.9 59.2 55.8
Connecticut 56.8 56 59 65 60.5
Delaware 47.8 47.5 51.4 54.3 51.3
District of Columbia 36.8 44.2 44.8 48.2 49.2
Florida 39.3 39 38.9 45.3 44.1
Georgia 38.2 39.9 42.1 48.4 44.9
Hawaii 57.7 56.6 59.4 58.1 58.8
Idaho 46.4 44.9 47.9 53.3 50.7
Illinois 47.5 42.9 44.4 53.6 53.9
Indiana 47.3 44.9 47.7 53.9 48.4
Iowa 50.7 52.1 52.8 59.1 58
Kansas 47.6 50.6 50.3 55.9 55.5
Kentucky 34.2 36.9 39.2 47.1 46.1
Louisiana 31.8 36.3 29.4 40.9 43
Maine 47.9 46.1 53.3 58.6 56.9
Maryland 47.2 48.4 53.6 59.5 60.5
Massachusetts 51.8 53.2 54.6 64.7 63.3
Michigan 46.4 42.3 42.8 54.1 46.2
Minnesota 53.2 55.7 57.8 63.4 62
Mississippi 29.1 33.8 34.5 40.8 39.3
Missouri 42 43.7 43.3 52.3 49.8
Montana 47 48.5 49.1 52.7 53
Nebraska 50 52.8 54.7 59.6 58.8
Nevada 45.4 43.7 46.3 47.5 35.1
New Hampshire 52.7 55 59.4 65.4 65.6
New Jersey 53.5 50.3 55.9 64.2 62.5
New Mexico 37.3 37.7 35.9 40.6 40.8
New York 44.8 40.5 43.7 51.2 55.1
North Carolina 38.3 43.1 45.3 50.5 47.3
North Dakota 47.9 52.2 54.6 59.8 60.2
Ohio 48.3 45.8 47.2 55.7 51.1
Oklahoma 41.1 45.9 41.8 48.1 46.7
Oregon 46.7 45.2 46.8 51.7 50.5
Pennsylvania 50 47.9 50.8 56.2 55.4
Rhode Island 50.5 49.1 52.2 58.5 55.4
South Carolina 37.3 40.3 38.9 42.7 41.7
South Dakota 46.5 46.3 51.1 55.4 54.2
Tennessee 36.8 39.6 39.7 43.2 43.6
Texas 39.9 44.8 39.5 46.9 47.8
Utah 52.5 51.8 53.5 59.9 55.4
Vermont 49.9 51.1 58.5 65.3 64.5
Virginia 44.7 51.3 54.2 60.7 59.6
Washington 49.6 49.7 50.9 54.9 53.3
West Virginia 35.3 38.6 39.1 44.3 44.5
Wisconsin 55 53.4 55.7 61.5 58.3
Wyoming 46.9 51.3 50.5 53.7 55.8

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