Rhode Island Tops CNBC’s 2026 List of Worst State Economies

CNBC ranks Rhode Island as the worst state economy for 2026, with Maryland, West Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas, South Dakota, Alaska, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Oklahoma rounding out the bottom. The study weights economy heavily and highlights factors like heavy reliance on federal funding, pension underfunding, sluggish job growth, tariff exposure, and fragile fiscal health as the main drags on performance, with scores ranging roughly from 121 to 172 out of 415.