AUGUSTA – In the most comprehensive ranking of state economic development efforts, Maine continues to hold its own – barely – compared to other states.

The 15th annual report from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Corporation for Enterprise Development gives Maine a report card with grades of B, C and D in three categories.

“In our 70 measures, overall Maine held its own from last year,” said CFED’s Sara Lawrence. “That is better than last year’s report card, which showed a drop from an A to a B in our performance index.”

The performance index is one of three broad measures used by CFED. The other two are business vitality and development capacity. The three are further broken down into 13 submeasures and 70 state-to-state rankings.

“I am disappointed Maine did not do better on the survey,” said Gov. Angus King. “But I am impressed with the scope of the measures they used. This really is a road map that shows where we are and where we need to go.”

Maine’s best grade was a B for the performance index, which measured employment, earnings, equity, quality of life and resource efficiency. The state got an A for both quality of life and equity, but only average grades, C’s, for the other indices in this category.

“Maine really did well with the quality of life measure with its low crime rate and high home ownership and quality of health care,” said Lawrence.

King said it was in this category of measures that he found some “nuggets” of good news. He said the fact Maine has the 13th highest net in-migration rate means others are taking note of the state.

“What’s that old saying about people voting with their feet?” King said. “I think this is an example of that and that this measure is very good news.”

But it is not good news for the entire state. Census data shows those newcomers were mostly in southern Maine and along the coast. Many areas in the interior of the state and in the northern counties saw a significant loss of population.

And other good news in the report is also tempered by the not so good, and in some cases, bad news.

Business vitality measures the competitiveness of existing businesses, the structural diversity of a state’s economy and the entrepreneurial energy of businesses in the state. Maine’s overall grade is C. While the state garners an A for diversity (variety of business types), the other two categories are only average.

“The state is burdened by a below average presence of technology firms [34th in the nation] and a lack of job growth from new business [43rd in the nation],” Lawrence said.

Where Maine flunked was in the third broad measure, the development capacity index. The state got an F in three areas: infrastructure resources, amenity resources and natural capital, and innovation assets. Human and financial resources ranked B.

“I am surprised we did not do better in that measure,” King said. “We have made tremendous strides in fiber optics and research and development investments. I think we are better than these numbers show.”

But Lawrence points out the measures are all in relation to what other states are doing. The measures are on a per capita or per worker basis. She said the study did take into account the progress Maine has made.

“What you have to realize is that other states were investing as well,” she said, “and they have invested more.”

There were some interesting contrasts in the detailed state-by-state comparisons. For example, while Maine ranked 13th in the nation for computers in the household, it ranked 50th in both science and engineering graduate students and in university research and development.

David Clough, Maine director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said the report should be a loud wake-up call to Maine business and political leaders.

“We are competing in a global economy,” he said, “and we are not the only ones investing in technology infrastructure and research and development. Other states are making bigger investments, so we are not moving ahead, we are struggling to keep up.”

Clough said the CFED ranking is well-respected because it is so thorough and measures such a wide range of indices. He said there is good news for small businesses in the study, like good access to financial resources, but there is also clear reason for concern.

“Small business is the engine of Maine’s economy,” he said, “and it depends on the availability of a skilled and educated work force and on access to technology. This study shows we need to be doing far more than we are doing.”

The CFED study does take note that Maine has invested more in education, but pointed out that other states have also invested additional resources. And other states have not only increased spending for elementary and secondary education, but there have been major investments in public universities and technical schools.

John Hanson, director of the Bureau of Labor Education at the University of Maine, said the CFED study should be used as a blueprint for where Maine needs to invest in its infrastructure.

“It’s all there,” he said. “What we need is the recognition and political will to do what is needed. I know it will be difficult because these are long-term investments and politicians, understandably, want quick results they can use at the next election.”

Hanson said policymakers need to start having a vision that extends beyond the next election cycle. He acknowledged there have been some investments in research and development by the state, but pointed out many states made similar investments years ago and are now reaping the benefits of those investments.

Hanson said he believes Maine has the resources needed to provide adequate investments. He said Gov. King and the Legislature have given far too large tax breaks to big business and not enough state money to long-term investments that will result in economic growth.

“The money is there,” he said. “The question is whether the will is there to do what is right in the long term.”