2016 United States map and guide

TONIGHT, January 12th 2016, President Barack Obama delivers his eighth and final State-of-the-Union address. The speech, an annual ritual that dates back to George Washington, is unlikely to offer many surprises. As in past years, Mr. Obama will offer up a mix of policy proposals and administration accomplishments with tales of American courage and patriotism. Spoiler alert: Mr. Obama will probably declare the state of the union to be “strong”.

While this evening’s speech may closely resemble those of previous years, much has changed across the 50 states during Mr Obama's presidency. On the economic front, America has experienced a slow, steady climb out of recession. North Dakota has fared best, cutting its unemployment to just 2.7%—the lowest of any of the states—and boosting its personal average income per person by over 4% per year since 2008, thanks to oil revenues. New Hampshire has also performed well, with an unemployment rate of just 3.2% and income growth of around 3% overall during the Obama years. Laggards include Nevada and Arizona, which were hit particularly hard by the housing bust, and currently suffer from unemployment levels above 6% and anaemic income growth.