Arizona earned above-average marks for its system of making annual budgetary data available to residents, according to a study by the Chicago-based policy institute Truth in Accounting (TIA).

The state’s score of 78 is above the U.S. average of 73.3. TIA’s scores ranged from a low of 44 to a high of 85. Arizona  ranked No. 22 in the nation for its efforts at providing timely, comprehensive financial data to citizens in a user-friendly way on the internet. 

In awarding the grades, TIA’s analysis considered whether the state data was posted online within about three months of the end of the state’s fiscal year, whether states hired independent auditors to review their numbers and whether pension debts are included in the annual fiscal report.

The 15 states that hire independent auditors to analyze their financial reports are Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming, according to the study.

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State’s Financial Transparency Scores

Rank	State	Financial Transparency Score
1	Utah	85
2	Washington	84
3	West Virginia	83
4	Virginia	83
5	South Dakota	83
6	Idaho	82
7	North Dakota	82
8	Alaska	81
9	Georgia	81
10	Indiana	81
11	New Hampshire	81
12	Pennsylvania	81
13	Oregon	81
14	Hawaii	80
15	Iowa	80
16	Maine	80
17	Nevada	80
18	New York	80
19	Mississippi	80
20	Tennessee	79
21	Wyoming	79
22	Arizona	78
23	South Carolina	78
24	Delaware	77
25	Kansas	77
26	Florida	76
27	Maryland	76
28	Kentucky	74
29	Michigan	74
30	Minnesota	74
31	Colorado	74
32	Texas	74
33	Alabama	74
34	Wisconsin	74
35	North Carolina	73
36	Ohio	73
37	Oklahoma	73
38	California	72
39	Illinois	72
40	New Jersey	71
41	Missouri	65
42	Louisiana	62
43	Nebraska	61
44	Rhode Island	55
45	Vermont	53
46	Massachusetts	52
47	Montana	52
48	Arkansas	50
49	New Mexico	50
50	Connecticut	44
	U.S. average	73

Source: Truth in Accounting