This story originally ran on VeloCityOKC.com.
Oklahoma ranked third in economic freedom in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America’s 2024 report, which analyzes data from the 2022 fiscal year. The report uses the all-government index to compare all 50 U.S. states, Canadian provinces and Mexican jurisdictions.
The Economic Freedom of North America 2024 (EFNA) report measures how provincial, state and local governments across North America allow citizens to make economic choices—such as the ability to make decisions about work, buying and selling goods, acquiring property and more. Governments can either restrict economic freedom through taxes, regulations, trade barriers or monetary manipulation, or protect it by upholding individual rights and property.
The all-government measure evaluates the influence of all levels of government—federal, provincial, state and local—across the three countries, making it a useful tool for comparing jurisdictions across different countries.
In the latest all-government index, New Hampshire ranked the highest with a score of 8.13, followed by Idaho at 8.07. Oklahoma and South Carolina tied for third at 8.06, while Florida and Indiana tied for fifth place at 8.05.
Alberta, the top-ranked Canadian province, tied with four U.S. states for 12th place at 8.01. British Columbia, the second–highest ranked Canadian province, ranks lower, tying with three U.S. states for 43rd place with a score of 7.84. The lowest-ranked Canadian province fell behind all 50 U.S. states in terms of all-government economic freedom.
As with every state, EFNA collaborated with a local organization in Oklahoma to assist with data collection. In this case, an organization located within the Greater Oklahoma City region partnered with EFNA to provide support: the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
The Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise is dedicated to promoting economic freedom, competitive markets, private ownership and individual choice. It fosters campus-wide discussions on topics such as personal liberty and human flourishing. The organization also offers courses related to free enterprise, sponsors the Free Enterprise Society, provides scholarships and fellowships for students interested in free enterprise and supports faculty and student research.
