The Exceptional State: An Accounting
This sidebar accompanies Gregory Orfalea's feature, "The Exceptional State."
| Indicator | California | Ranking | U.S.A. |
|---|---|---|---|
"Happiest" state | 66.55 | No. 4 [a] | 52.88 |
Percent cigarette smokers | 11 | No. 1 (lowest) | 17.1 |
Infant mortality rate | 4.3 | No. 5 (lowest) | 5.8 |
Percent foreign-born residents | 27 | No. 1 | 13 |
Death rate (per 1,000) | 6.2 | No. 2 (lowest) [b] | 7.3 |
Public school teacher salaries | $79,128 | No. 2 [c] | $59,660 |
Rape (per 100,000) | 23.6 | No. 1 (lowest) | 28.5 |
Police protection spending per capita | $426 | No. 4 [d] | $328 |
Justice and legal spending per capita | $206 | No. 5 [e] | $137 |
Federal funds for defense | $49.3 billion | No. 2 [f] | $408 billion |
Non-defense federal funds | $286 billion | No. 1 | $2.7 trillion |
Share of federal tax revenue | $422.7 billion | No. 1 | $3.3 trillion |
Average wage | $62,964 | No. 5 [g] | $53,621 |
Gross domestic product | $2.7 trillion | No. 1 [h] | $19 trillion |
Manufacturing | $253 billion | No. 1 | $2.4 trillion |
Personal wealth | $1.6 trillion | No. 1 [i] | $12.5 trillion |
Percent science and engineering degrees | 44 | No. 2 [j] | 31 |
Agricultural crops | $34.8 billion | No. 1 [k] | $189.6 billion |
National forest land (millions of acres) | 20.8 | No. 2 [l] | 197 |
Number of coal mines | 0 | No. 1 (lowest) | 710 |
Non-hydroelectric renewable energy (kilowatt-hours) | 65 million | No. 4 | 411 million |
Retail trade establishments | 108,331 | No. 1 | 1.1 million |
Number of information companies | 21,068 | No. 1 [m] | 141,566 |
Annual national park visits | 41.9 million | No. 2 [n] | 330.9 million |
Exports | $171.9 billion | No. 2 [o] | $1.2 trillion |
Notes
[a] The three "happiest" states are Minnesota, Utah, and Hawaii, according to an academic study that calculated scores based on the following indicators: emotional and physical well-being; work environment; and community and environment.
[b] Only Hawaii has a lower death rate.
[c] Only New York is higher in public school teacher salaries.
[d] Fourth highest police protection outside of Washington, D.C. ($851 per capita), Alaska ($492 per capita), and New York ($484).
[e] Only Alaska, Washington, D.C., and Delaware are higher in per-capita expenditure of justice and legal services.
[f] Only Virginia receives more federal funds for defense.
[g] Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, and New York have a higher average wage.
[h] No state comes close to California in GDP; CA is 13 percent of the entire nation's GDP.
[i] No state comes close to California in personal income; California is nearly double that of next closest states (New York and Texas).
[j] Only Wyoming has a greater percentage of degrees confirmed as science or engineering.
[k] California is 18 percent of total agricultural proceeds in the United States. California is No. 1 in production of: vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, celery, garlic, lettuce, peas, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes); and fruits (dates, figs, lemons, nectarines, olives, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines). Florida is slightly higher in oranges.
[l] Only Alaska has more National Forest lands.
[m] 15 percent of all information companies in the U.S. are in California.
[n] 12.6 percent of all visits to national parks in the U.S. are in California. No. 1 is Washington, D.C., and No. 3 is Virginia.
[o] Texas is No. 1 in exports at $264 billion.
