Details on Oklahoma’s Ranking

According to the 2022 American Dream Prosperity Index, there has been no positive movement in Oklahoma’s overall prosperity rankings in the last 10 years. The state ranks the same as it did in 2012, 44th out of 50 states. The state’s score for inclusive societies, however, improved by five points. Here is how Oklahoma’s scores breakdown:

• Overall Prosperity – 44
• Empowered People – 47
• Inclusive Societies – 41 (up from 46 in 2012)
• Open Economies – 37 (down from 35 in 2012)

Overall Prosperity is measured by the following:

• Living Conditions
• Health
• Education
• Natural Environment
• Safety and Security
• Personal Freedom
• Governance
• Social Capital
• Business Environment
• Infrastructure
• Economic Quality

Mental health levels have weakened in all states.

Prior to the pandemic, the large number of drug overdose deaths in America was well documented – labeled ‘deaths of despair’ by Case and Deaton. 18 Pre-COVID-19, around 70,000 Americans were dying each year from a drug overdose, but the pandemic marked a big increase. During 2021, deaths increased by nearly 50% to 107,000, when compared with 2019, although there is significant variation in drug overdose death rates across the U.S. In West Virginia, for example, the drug overdose death rate is 81.4 per 100,000 population, nearly eight times higher than in South Dakota, at 10.3 deaths per 100,000 population, compared to 28.5 for the U.S. as a whole. At a county level, disparities are even more stark. Harrison County, Kentucky, has a drug overdose rate of 135 deaths per 100,000, nearly 20 times that in Cameron County, Texas. An additional 46,000 Americans committed suicide in 2020, although suicide rates vary significantly across the U.S., from 50 deaths per 100,000 population in Kay County, Oklahoma, ten times higher than in Kings County, New York, where it is 5 deaths per 100,000 population.

The Mental Health element, which includes both drug overdose deaths and suicides, as well as other measures, has been weakening over the past six years, with all states and the District of Colombia declining. Kansas, Nevada, and Colorado saw the greatest deterioration over the past six years. In Kansas, suicide rates increased by nearly a third, and the percentage of the population living with a serious mental health issue increased from 4.1% to 6.7%, meaning nearly an additional 80,000 Kansans were living with a serious mental health issue than did a decade previously. Consequently, Kansas has fallen from 16th in the state rankings for mental health to 33rd. All but 13 of the 1,481 counties in the Index have seen a deterioration in mental  health over the past six years, with Denver County, Colorado, and San Juan County, New Mexico, seeing the biggest deterioration. Of the ten counties that saw the biggest decline in mental health, seven are in within Colorado.

Although mental health has weakened, other aspects of health have improved over the past decade, which should be celebrated. National rates of smoking have fallen by nearly a third and excessive alcohol use and pain reliever misuse for the U.S. as a whole have decreased by 17% and 21% respectively. In addition, the percentage of Americans regularly visiting the doctor has increased to nearly threequarters from just over two-thirds and immunizations for HPV and other immunizations have also increased. Furthermore, nationally, around 13% of adults report having no healthcare coverage and 11% report not having treatment due to cost, down from 19% and 16% respectively a decade previously, but there are considerable differences in these rates across the country.