Public officials in our region have said for years that one of their priorities is attracting and retaining new and exciting industries — and the kinds of individuals (and their families) who work for such companies. According to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Innovative States (2025),” neither Ohio nor West Virginia has picked up the pace on making that happen.

In the list of most innovative states, Ohio ranks 42nd and West Virginia is 49th. Louisiana and Mississippi continue to cushion the Mountain State from hitting rock bottom.

Ohio ranks 38th for both human capital and innovation environment. West Virginia is 46th for human capital and — here Louisiana and Mississippi cannot help us — 51st for innovation environment.

Recall Ohio’s back-and-forth joy and disappointment over Intel when noting that WalletHub places the Buckeye State dead last for projected STEM-job demand by 2030. West Virginia is 47th for eighth grade math and science performance and 50th for venture-capital funding per capita.

Meanwhile, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, California, Colorado and Washington state are at the top of the rankings.

“The most innovative states are especially attractive to people who have majored in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as they offer abundant career opportunities and investment dollars, both for jobs at existing companies and for startups,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst. “These states also instill young students with the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce, skills which are useful whether or not they pursue a STEM career.”

States at the top of the charts are continuing to focus on increasing innovation through investments in education, research and business creation — particularly in highly specialized industries.

What’s happening in Ohio and West Virginia? Why does it seem that so often our elected officials and other policymakers do not match their actions to their words? Could it be they are not truly interested in propelling this region to greater heights? Or, could it be that they simply don’t know what they’re doing?

Other states — not just in this category, but in many others — can give us ideas about how to get this right, maybe even models to follow, if we are not too proud and stubborn to take a look. Once we do, we must also be honest with ourselves about what change will be necessary to make the leap — and then get to work.