Washington, D.C. ranks third in innovation among U.S. states, according to a new study that was carried out by the personal finance website WalletHub and released on March 18.
D.C. was also ranked as the most innovative state as part of the same type of study in 2017, and it recently topped the ranking for being the best place for women in the tech industry.
The District got an overall innovation index score of 67.47., also ranking number one in human capital section and number 17 for innovation environment.
Fifty states and D.C. were compared across two dimensions, including human capital and innovation environment in the city. Also, 24 different metrics, including share of STEM professionals, AP exam participation, entrepreneurial activity, venture capital funding, among other factors, were taken into consideration for the ranking. Each dimension was given 50 points.
Maryland was ranked fourth on the list and Virginia also made it to the ranking at number seven. Maryland landed the fifth place in human capital section and got the seventh spot for innovation environment. Virginia came in at number three for human capital and 15 for innovation environment.
D.C. also topped other categories, including for having the highest share of STEM professionals, highest projected STEM job demand by 2020, the highest share of science, and engineering graduates aged 25 and older, the highest share of tech companies, and the highest share of research and development spending per capita.
Massachusetts got the highest ranking of number two as the most innovative state in human capital and also came first for innovation environment.
Washington State ranked second overall, fourth for human capital, and third for the innovation environment.