Nevada Scores Poorly on Opportunity Index
•Joyce Lupiana, Reporter
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) — According to the Opportunity Index report released yesterday, Nevada is the worst place in the nation to move if you are looking for opportunity.
The Opportunity Index ranks all 50 states using indicators such as the unemployment rate, poverty rate, on-time graduation rate and others to assign a first of its kind Opportunity Score.
Connecticut received the highest score with 89.02 out of a possible 100. Nearby Utah scored 75.55 (9th place) and California scored 54.14 (33th place).
Nevada came in dead last with a score of 21.32.
Nevada scored 4 out of 10 in the economy category, 1 out of 10 in education and 1 out of 10 in community health and civic life.
Although the median income for Nevada is actually above the national average, the high unemployment rate of almost 14% hurt its score.
Nevada also scored below the national average for population below the poverty line, high-speed Internet access, preschool enrollment, on-time high school graduation, degrees in higher education, and primary care providers.
According to the study, Nevada’s violent crime rate is higher than the national average, scoring second highest.
The only categories that Nevada scored better than national average were percentage of population below poverty level, percentage of annual per pupil education and related costs covered by the state, and number of grocery stores and supermarkets.
Results for all the states can be found here.
The Opportunity Index is compiled by Opportunity Nation, a campaign from Be the Change and the American Human Development Project, part of the Social Science Research Council.
The index is also used to grade over 2,400 U.S. counties.
Other states at the bottom of the list included Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana.
