WEST VIRGINIA INVENTIONINDEX | AUGUST 2025

August 2025: 0.83% (D+ grade)

West Virginia inventionINDEX August 2025: 0.83% (D+ grade)

The inventionINDEX measures innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so, we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

West Virginia inventionINDEX Scores – Last 12 months

The West Virginia inventionINDEX for August 2025 stands at 0.83% with a D+ rating. This marks a decrease from the previous month’s score of 1.45% (A- rating) in July 2025, returning to the same score seen in June 2025. Compared to August of the previous year, which held an F rating at 0.62%, the current month shows a slight improvement, indicating a modest, albeit not significant, upward shift year-over-year for the same month.

A higher inventionINDEX score and a correlating higher grade, such as an A+, signifies robust innovation output within the state. This is indicative of a healthy economic environment where GDP growth is aligning positively with patent production. Such a trend suggests an economy that is not only expanding but is also fostering new ideas and technologies, which can lead to job creation, increased investment, and long-term economic resilience. States with consistently high scores often attract further R\&D endeavors and a skilled workforce.

Conversely, a lower inventionINDEX score and a poorer grade, like the current D+ or even an F, suggest a more challenging economic landscape for innovation. A low score indicates that either GDP growth is stagnant or declining relative to patent production, or that patent production itself is lagging. This can signal reduced investment in research and development, fewer new businesses, and a potential slowdown in economic recovery or growth. Such a scenario may lead to a less competitive economic standing for the state in the long run.

Analyzing the historical data, West Virginia’s inventionINDEX has fluctuated significantly over the past 60 months. While there have been periods of strong performance, evidenced by multiple A+ and A- ratings, there are also recurring instances of D+ and F grades. This pattern suggests that West Virginia’s innovation output has experienced peaks and valleys. Sustained effort to improve the factors contributing to patent production and GDP growth would be beneficial for achieving more consistent positive sentiment in its inventionINDEX.

Discussion:

In August, the West Virginia inventionINDEX scored a negative sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average but outperformed the downward trend for the year. This is in contrast to the prior 12 months, which experienced an upward trend. 

As the economy continues to stabilize in the post-pandemic era, it remains uncertain whether any backlog of applications still exists or if the department has returned to normal processing timelines. The inventionINDEX could also be affected by lingering consequences from the pandemic, such as company closures, reduced workforces, and limited R&D capabilities, which may still be impacting current operations.

Learn More:

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed’s West Virginia office provides R&D tax credit consulting and advisory services to Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Wheeling.

Feel free to book a quick teleconference with one of R&D tax specialists if you would like to learn more about R&D tax credit opportunities.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is the largest Specialist R&D tax credit advisory firm in the United States. With offices nationwide, we are one of the only firms globally to exclusively provide R&D tax credit consulting services to our clients. We have been exclusively providing R&D tax credit claim preparation and audit compliance solutions for over 30 years. 

Swanson Reed hosts daily free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/free-webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.