State red tape index
Weighted by each state's industry mix, — of — jurisdictions regulate beyond the light-touch benchmark. — has the most red tape and — the least.
Weighted by each state's industry mix, — of — jurisdictions regulate beyond the median benchmark. — has the most red tape and — the least.
Weighted by each state's industry mix, — of — jurisdictions regulate beyond the light-touch benchmark. — has the most red tape and — the least.
Weighted by each state's industry mix, — of — jurisdictions regulate beyond the median benchmark. — has the most red tape and — the least.
State RegData 4.0 · 2022 rules · the published index values
State RegData 8.0 · 2026 rules · rebuilt with the paper's method, not yet published
— of —
Red tape index above —
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Share of rules that are red tape, averaged over the — states with any
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Total rules exceed the benchmark before weighting by industry
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Index —, with — of rules counted as red tape
— of —
Red tape index above —
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Share of rules that are red tape, averaged over the — states with any
— of —
Total rules exceed the benchmark before weighting by industry
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Index —, with — of rules counted as red tape
— of —
Red tape index above —
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Share of rules that are red tape, averaged over the — states with any
— of —
Total rules exceed the benchmark before weighting by industry
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Index —, with — of rules counted as red tape
— of —
Red tape index above —
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Share of rules that are red tape, averaged over the — states with any
— of —
Total rules exceed the benchmark before weighting by industry
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Index —, with — of rules counted as red tape
Map
Red tape index by state. At — a state regulates its industries at the benchmark; warmer tiles carry more red tape, blue tiles regulate below it. Each state is one equal tile so small states stay readable.
% red tape: the part of a state's industry-weighted regulation above the benchmark, as a share of its red tape index. Warmer tiles have more; blue tiles regulate below the benchmark and have none. Each state is one equal tile so small states stay readable.
Excess regulatory stringency: the share of a state's rules beyond the benchmark count, before weighting by industry. Blue tiles have fewer rules than the benchmark. Each state is one equal tile so small states stay readable.
Ranking
Most to least red tape. Each row shows the index, then the % red tape; the dashed line marks —, the benchmark. Tied states share a rank.
Most to least red tape. Each row shows the % red tape, then the index. States at or below the benchmark have none and are ordered by their index. Tied states share a rank.
Most to least regulated relative to the benchmark rule count. Each row shows excess stringency, then how far the state's rule count sits above or below the benchmark. States below it have no excess stringency.
How the measures work
- Red tape index
- Each industry's regulatory restrictions divided by that industry's benchmark, weighted by the industry's share of the state's private output (2017–2022 average) and summed. An index of — means a state regulates exactly at the benchmark once its industry mix is taken into account.
- % red tape
- The part of the index above —, as a share of the index: an estimate of how much of a state's regulation is red tape. States at or below the benchmark have none.
- Excess regulatory stringency
- The share of a state's total regulatory restrictions beyond the benchmark count, with every industry counted regardless of its size in the state economy.
- Benchmarks
- For each industry, the median or the 25th percentile ("light touch") level of regulation among the states where that industry's output share is at or above the national average.
- Versions
- The 4.0 view shows the published index from Chambers and O'Reilly, "A Practical Measure of Red Tape," Regulation & Governance, built from State RegData 4.0 (2022 rules) and BEA output shares for 2017–2022. The 8.0 view repeats the same steps on State RegData 8.0 (2026 snapshot) with BEA output shares for 2019–2024, splitting BEA's combined industries equally across their 3-digit codes.
- Comparing versions
- State RegData 8.0 assigns rules to industries with a newer model, so some rules move between industries. Part of any change between the two views reflects that reclassification rather than new or repealed rules.
- Coverage
- State RegData 4.0 does not cover Arkansas, Nebraska or West Virginia, so they appear as outlined tiles with no value.
- State RegData 8.0 covers every state and DC. California, Arkansas and West Virginia come from state files that are not listed in the 8.0 release manifest.
Chambers, Dustin, and Colin O’Reilly. 2026. “A Practical Measure of Red Tape.” Regulation & Governance 20(4): 1672–1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.70079