Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril

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Economic Stress Batters Nine States, Threatens To Slow National Recovery

California's enormous budget shortfalls (49%!) have made headlines, but a new report from the Pew Center on the states finds that nine other states are in dire straits due to financial mismanagement. How these states navigate the depression will play a role in how quickly the nation recovers.

This examination by the Pew Center on the States looks closely at nine states, in addition to California, that are particularly affected by the depression. All of California’s neighbors–Arizona, Nevada and Oregon–and fellow Sun Belt state Florida were severely hit by the bursting housing bubble, landing them on Pew’s list of states facing fiscal difficulties similar to California’s. A Midwestern cluster of states comprising Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin emerged, too, as did the Northeastern states of New Jersey and Rhode Island.

"Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril" makes clear that the depression severely impacted states from different geographic regions with different types of economies, tax structures and political leanings.

**Updated 11/13/09- The Pew Center on the States hosted a briefing following the release of "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril." Learn more and listen to the full audio here.

• Download the report. (Adobe PDF)
• Download the executive summary. (Adobe PDF)
• Read more about the states profiled.
• Read how the states were assessed.