A recent study found a bright spot among the struggles facing Connecticut’s economy.

The Nutmeg State ranked as the 14th most innovative state in the U.S., sandwiched between Minnesota and Texas, according to a recent Wallethub study.

Innovation is a principal driver of U.S. economic growth and in 2019, the U.S. will spend an estimated $581 billion on research and development – more than any other country in the world and about 25 percent of the world’s total.

In order to recognize the nation’s biggest contributors, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 24 indicators of innovation-friendliness ranging from share of STEM professionals to R&D spending per capita to tech company density.

The five top-ranked states were Massachusetts, Washington, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Colorado. The five worst states were Tennessee, Iowa, West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi.