Analysis: So what are the other AAA states?

Maryland’s top officials often tout Maryland as one of only seven states that have a AAA bond rating. Which are the other six?

Two of them are our neighbors, Delaware and Virginia. Rankings by Moody’s Investor’s Services say Maryland’s debt burden is “high,” which led to our story Tuesday. Delaware’s debt burden per capita is even higher at $2,128, $621 more per person; it’s debt as a percentage of personal income at 5.4 percent is 2 percent higher than Maryland’s.

Virginia to the south has per capita debt almost half Maryland’s at $782, 1.9 percent of personal income.

So obviously debt burden is just one of many factors in the bond ratings. The other four states with AAA bond ratings are Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri and Utah.

About The Author

Len Lazarick

len@marylandreporter.com

Len Lazarick was the founding editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and is currently the president of its nonprofit corporation and chairman of its board He was formerly the State House bureau chief of the daily Baltimore Examiner from its start in April 2006 to its demise in February 2009. He was a copy editor on the national desk of the Washington Post for eight years before that, and has spent decades covering Maryland politics and government.