Florida’s #1 For Education and Economy – Florida's 2024 Rankings

The bottom line is that Florida’s story remains a good one that’s evidenced to be consistently improving. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
There are two sides to stories andone side to facts. So how do
you like the fact this is theBrian Mud Show. Let's take a look
at Florida's twenty twenty four rankings.I talked last week the US News and
World Report annual rankings. Talked aboutthe education and economic piece, but what
about everything else? There are actuallyeight categories that go into the annual rankings,

(00:22):
and aside from the education economy,you have crime and corrections, fiscal
stability, healthcare, infrastructure, environment, and opportunity. And within each of
those categories there are also multiple componentsthat come together in creating the overall state
score. This year, Florida ranksas the ninth top rated state overall across

(00:42):
all categories. That's up a spotfrom a year ago and is the highest
overall rating Florida has had in theannual study. Well, ranking ninth overall
strong performance for Florida, it reallydoesn't tell the broader story. Florida ranks
above average and six categories, isaverage in one category and is number one
and what most surveys would suggest arethe two most important categories of all education

(01:06):
and the economy. Florida's overall rankingis weighted down with the poor performance in
one category, opportunity, So let'sstart there. Florida's opportunity ranking this year
is number forty five, which isactually up aspot from a year ago,
and that's due to two reasons.Florida's average cost of leving is shown to
be two point one percent higher thanthe national average, which the state's median

(01:30):
household income is shown to be aboutfive thousand lower than the national average.
So these very real affordability challenges areknowns. The better news is that Florida
has been consistently seen incomes rise fasterthan the national average, which has helped
and should continue to help going forward, given that Florida continues to have the

(01:51):
best overall economy in the country.So about the economy. Florida's economy is
the top performing in the country dueto having one of the best business environments
in the country with one of thetop growth rates in the country. Importantly,
while Florida's economy is known to bedriven by net migration, the job

(02:13):
growth rate is what's really driving thestate's economy. Florida's net migration growth rate
was one point seven percent, whilethe state's overall growth rate four point eight
percent, almost double the national average. So that is consistently driving wages higher
and is a great sign going forward. As well as for education. Just
as Florida's economy ranked first, improvingover last year, so two was the

(02:35):
case in education. Florida's higher educationranking number one, but for the first
time, Florida's pre K through twelveranking was in the top ten. And
as for the other categories, Floridaranked thirteenth in crime and corrections, thirteenth
on the environment, twentieth for fiscalstability, twentieth for infrastructure, twenty sixth

(02:57):
for healthcare. So yeah, thebottom line is that Floridas remains a good
one that is evidence to be consistentlyimproving. All right, now, let's
get a look at some Florida headlines. Governor d Santas has signed into law
on anti human trafficking Bill HB seventyseventy three increases penalties for those who engage
in human trafficking, and it prohibitsadult entertainment businesses from employing people under twenty

(03:19):
one. De Santa says he's alsoapproving funding to expand access to emergency beds
for adult survivors and a new grantprogram will enhance training for law enforcement officers
who respond to trafficking incidents. Governoralso announcing yesterday they warned more than two
million dollars to Florida's military communities thatmoney from the Defense Infrastructure Grant Program will
help pay for projects at Patrick SpaceForce based Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,

(03:44):
Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and NavalStation Mayport. Search for a missing free
diver off the Treasure Coast has beensuspended. Thirty nine year old Virgil Price
was last seen Sunday morning by threepeople he was with while he was diving
near the Halsey shipwreck offshore near SaintLucie County. Search continued all day yesterday
and last night for the Coast Guardeventually suspended it around ten thirty. Officials
say the search covered over fourteen hundredmiles during a span of thirty six hours.

(04:10):
A Trump supporting business owner in downtownLake Worth Beach gets to keep a
painting on his roof the city's CodeCompliance Division canceling a citation against the owner
of a commercial building along Lake Avenue. On the roof of that one story
building the words Trump twenty twenty fourin red paint. Some people in a
condo next door complained, but thecity officials now say that it is not

(04:31):
covered in the code. The paintingnot a mural or a sign because it
is not on a wall. Thoseare your headlines. Good for him,