Business Oregon Debuts Updated Index of Innovative State Economies

Business Oregon is pleased to announce one of its key innovation research projects, the Oregon Innovation Index, has been updated and is now live on biz.oregon.gov. The Oregon Innovation Index was created to measure the state’s innovation economy and identify opportunities for enhancing competitiveness. It is a key yardstick used by Business Oregon to track the state’s success in building an innovation-based economy. An innovation-based economy is one that encourages new ideas, products, and approaches to meet current or emerging demands of consumers. It directly impacts the ability of communities to grow and prosper.

The Innovation Index uses a list of 20 indicators that ensure that each stage of the innovation process, the expected outcomes, and the environment that fosters innovation are all being evaluated when determining each state’s Innovation Score.

Oregon’s 2022 Innovation Score is 69 out of 100, which ranked third in the U.S. and is an improvement over the state’s 2018 score of 66.5. The top scoring state in the 2022 Index was Massachusetts with a score of 71.5. The top three scoring states– Massachusetts, California, and Oregon – remain unchanged from their 2018 Index ranking. The first Innovation Index was published in 2004 and this is its sixth update

Oregon performed best in indicators of Invention, Translation, and Economic Prosperity. In patents, Oregon continues to outperform for its size, due in large part to an established, competitive high technology industry with strong research and development (R&D). For the Translation indicators, Oregon made strong gains in university licenses and options – ranking first in the U.S. – while industry R&D investments remain strong. Economic Prosperity remains an innovation strength for Oregon, with average wage and exports climbing in national rank coupled with strong 10-year growth trends. The gap in average wage between Oregon and the U.S. continues to shrink.

The index looks not only at current rankings for each indicator, but also scores states on performance relative to the U.S. average and 10-year trend for each indicator. States with strong 10-year trends show up higher in the Index than if the index was based solely on current rankings. This feature of the index essentially rewards states whose innovation economies are becoming more competitive, such as Oregon. Oregon had the highest 10-year trend score amongst states. These scores point to an innovation economy in Oregon that is already competitive nationally, but also growing its competitiveness over time.  

The Innovation Index is a critical piece of information to be used in conjunction with Oregon’s 10-Year Innovation Plan, which sets the direction for innovation policy as part of the overall economic development recovery strategy in Oregon coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the complete 2022 Innovation Index and learn more about innovation in Oregon at biz.oregon.gov.

September 15, 2022

Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, invests in Oregon businesses, communities, and people to promote a globally competitive, diverse, and inclusive economy. The agency’s services span rural community development and infrastructure financing; business retention, expansion and recruitment; export promotion and international trade; investments in industry research and development and entrepreneurship; small business assistance; and support for arts and cultural organizations. Learn more at biz.oregon.gov.