Governor Mitt Romney’s Record in Massachusetts

This article contains statistics on state ranking, economic, education, poverty, debt, and health care areas of Mitt Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 – 2007.

Massachusetts’ ranking in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business:

Category	2007	2012
Overall	12	28
Cost of Doing Business	40	49
Workforce	26	32
Quality of Life	3	11
Economy	41	21
Infrastructure & Transportation	38	45
Technology & Innovation	4	7
Education	1	3
Business Friendliness	13	29
Access to Capital	2	1
Cost of Living	43	41

To view rankings of all 50 states for both years above, click on America’s Top States for Business 2007 and/or America’s Top States for Business 2012.

Economic statistics:

• During Romney’s tenure, Massachusetts lost manufacturing jobs faster than the national average
• Massachusetts rate of losing manufacturing jobs was slower than before and after Mitt Romney took office
• Massachusetts’ unemployment rate was 5.6% when Romney entered office and 4.7% when he left office
• Romney vetoed a bill that would ban the state of Massachusetts from “contracting with companies that outsourced labor overseas”
• In December 2006, Massachusetts’ unemployment rate was 4.7%, while the national average was 4.4%.

To read the entirety of the articles containing the source data, click on Claims and counter-claims on Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts record, Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts record: proof of ‘strong leadership’?, and/or the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Education statistics:

• During Romney’s tenure, the number of charter schools increased from 46 to 59
• Massachusetts placed first on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams from 2005-2011.
• 2002-2003 high school (grades 9-12) dropout rate was 3.3%
• 2006-2007 high school (grades 9-12) dropout rate was 3.8%
• 2010-2011 high school (grades 9-12) dropout rate was 2.7%

To read the entirety of the articles containing the source data, click on Mitt Romney’s education record was mixed, Romney’s record on education includes successes, failures, and/or Dropout Rates.

Poverty statistics:

The table below shows the percentage of the population below the poverty level.

Year	Massachusetts	U.S.A.
2000	9.3%	12.4%
2007	9.9%	13.0%
2010	11.4%	15.3%

To view the source data or see data for other years and/or states, click on American FactFinder.

Debt statistics:

• In 2007, Massachusetts had more debt per person, at $4,153, than any other state
• Romney slowed the rate of debt growth from 5.8% to 1.9%
• During Romney’s tenure, state debt averaged 9% of personal income, second worst in the nation.

To read the entirety of the article containing the source data, click on Is Romney’s Massachusetts record really as bad as Obama says?

Health Care statistics:

• 62% of physicians say the law had no adverse effect on waiting times
• In 2006, 68.5% of nonelderly adults supported the law, and in 2011, 67% supported it
• In 2006, Massachusetts’ rate of uninsured was 7.7% (the lowest rate in the country) compared to the national average of 14.8%
• In 2010, 98.1% of Massachusetts residents had health insurance compared to the national rate of 84.6%
• The “net added cost to Massachusetts taxpayers was $353 million in 2010, or roughly 1.2 percent of the state budget”
• About “$487 million of the 2010 Medicaid budget, about 5.2 percent, was for expansions under the health care law. (All those figures are before federal reimbursements.)”

To read the entirety of the article containing the source data, click on ‘RomneyCare’ Facts and Falsehoods.