State Economic Watch

In the City of Chicago As the evening shadows fall There are people dreaming  Of the hills of Donegal That’s the chorus of a wonderful Irish ballad by Christy Moore called “The City of Chicago”. And according to the US Census Bureau, there’s a lot of truth to the song. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Census has published its list of the US counties with the largest Irish-American populations. At the top of the list - Cook County, Illinois! Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! ☘️

Exxon announced today that it’s pulling the plug on New Jersey for good. The company’s Board recommended moving its legal domicile to Texas in a proxy filing today. Exxon has been domiciled in New Jersey for over 100 years, but a significant portion of the company’s operations and employees are now located in Texas.

A new study from the West Virginia University Bureau of Business & Economic Research finds that the combined contribution of coal mining and coal-fired power plants contributed $21 billion to the West Virginia economy in 2024. The study, The Economic Impact of Coal and Coal-Fired Power Generation in West Virginia , estimates that the direct economic impact of these activities was $15.5 billion, while the indirect impact was $5.5 billion.  Unfortunately, the only reference material that is available is this press release from the West Virginia Coal Association. A search for the report takes the reader to a 2021 version, but the 2026 version of the West Virginia University analysis doesn’t seem to be available anywhere, leaving us unable to determine how this analysis was conducted.

Delinquency and foreclosure rates were little changed in most states in January according to the most recent Ice Mortgage Monitor . The national rate of total non-current mortgages remained at 4.1% as of January 31, 2026, as early-stage delinquencies declined slightly m/m, while those over 90 days delinquent or in foreclosure increased modestly. January state delinquency rankings were also little changed from those posted in December. The five states with the highest non-current rates remain Louisiana (8.6%), Mississippi (8.5%), Alabama (6.4%), Arkansas (6.1%), and Indiana (5.9%). Idaho, Washington, Montana, Colorado, and California had the lowest non-current rates, all 2.3% or less. The states seeing the greatest y/y increase in non-current rates were Utah (+18.1%), Maryland (+14.7%), Arkansas (+13.7%) , and Arizona (+13.4%). Florida, Hawaii and Vermont all saw y/y declines in their non-current rates.

A new economic analysis puts the Choctaw Nation’s contribution to the Oklahoma economy at over $4.1 billion in 2023. The analysis was performed by Dr. Kyle Dean, formerly of Oklahoma City University. According to this analysis, the Tribe "supported 26,917 Oklahoma jobs, representing $1.653 billion in wages and benefits paid to Oklahomans”. Finally, the study notes that the Tribe’s gaming compact with the state has resulted in payments to the state from the Tribe of over $422 million. As a reference point, Oklahoma's GDP is approximately $276 billion.

In late February, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signed the West Virginia First Small Business Growth Act into law. The law is designed to incentivise private investment, from what are referred to as “growth funds”, in the state’s small businesses, primarily through the use of tax credits. The legislation defines an “eligible business” as one that has “fewer than 250 employees and has its principal business operations in West Virginia”, and caps the total credits at $15 million per year.