All measures of economic competitiveness were chosen from economic literature about contributing factors to the growth of Gross State Product and from criteria used by site selection professionals. These metrics were validated by survey research with Pennsylvania business leaders. Those metrics were grouped in eight categories for analysis and monitoring. They are:
Budget and Spending
- Standard and Poor’s Bond Rating
- State Expenditures as a Percent of Gross State Product
- State Expenditures per Capita
- State Government Debt as a Percent of Gross State Product
Education and Workforce
- School Quality: 4th Grade Reading Proficiency
- School Quality: 4th Grade Math Proficiency
- School Quality: 8th Grade Reading Proficiency
- School Quality: 8th Grade Math Proficiency
- High School Graduation Rate, Including GED Equivalency
- Bachelors Degree Attainment
- Advanced Degree Attainment
- College Affordability
- Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Scores
- Patents per Capita
Energy and Natural Resources
- Average Residential Price of Natural Gas
- Average Commercial Price of Natural Gas
- Total Energy Consumption
- Total Energy Production
- Average Industrial Price of Electricity
- Average Industrial Price of Natural Gas
- Number of Sewage Treatment Facilities
- Percent of Population Served by Public Water Systems
Healthcare
- People Without Health Insurance Coverage
- Health Insurance Mandates
- Health Insurance Premiums
- Hospitals per 100,000 Population
- Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population
- Active Physicians per 100,000 Population
- State Health Insurance Exchange Participation
Infrastructure
- Percent of Bridges Structurally Deficient
- Commute Time
- Percent of Workers Using Public Transportation to Commute to Work
- Freight Rail Miles
- Access to High Speed Internet
- Enplanements – Airport Activity
- Total Shipping Tonnage (in thousands)
Labor, Legal and Regulatory Climate
Quality of Life
- State to State Domestic Migration
- Net Migration
- Housing Affordability: Single Family Housing Price Index
- Safety: Crime Rates per 100,000 People