Each year, MTF publishes a Competitiveness Index and Companion Poll to provide a holistic look at how Massachusetts compares to competitor states and to gauge the opinion of residents on how Massachusetts is doing.
2026 Competitiveness Index – MTF’s 3rd annual Index will be released soon!
2026 Competitiveness Poll – The annual competitiveness poll is conducted by the MassInc Polling Group (MPG) and acts as a companion to the annual Index. This year’s poll was released on September 22nd. You can read an overview of the poll here and review topline results here.
This year’s poll found:
- Massachusetts remains a desirable, though expensive, place to live, with most saying it is better than other states. Those in lower-income households or with less education are less likely to offer favorable reviews.
- Massachusetts is seen as better on education, health care, public service, and the strength of our local services, and worse on commute times and housing costs. Pessimism has grown as to the state of the country, while views of Massachusetts have stayed fairly stable.
- Affordability is by far the biggest concern for Massachusetts residents. It is the focus of residents’ state and national policy priorities and comes up throughout the survey. Housing costs are the top affordability issue, both in open-ended comments and several other places in the survey.
