The Best and Worst States for Business
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One southern state tops a new set of rankings, while another one came in last. Where does your state score among the 50?
North Carolina is the No. 1 state for doing business while Mississippi is ranked last, according to a recent study by CNBC.
North Carolina rose to first on the America’s Top States for Doing Business list from No. 2 last year because of its “solid finances,” CNBC said. The state’s credit rating is “pristine”; plus, its economic growth (6.7%) and job growth (3.6%) last year were among the strongest in the nation, the media organization added.
On the other end of the list is Mississippi.
While the state offers the lowest cost of living and the lowest wage costs, Mississippi’s workforce is among the nation’s least educated. It is also the least productive state in terms of economic output per job, CNBC said.
After all data was analyzed, these states came out on the top and bottom of the list:
Best States
1. North Carolina
2. Washington
3. Virginia
4. Colorado
5. Texas
6. Tennessee
7. Nebraska
8. Utah
9. Minnesota
10. Georgia
11. Florida
12. Iowa
13. North Dakota
14. Indiana
15. Ohio
Worst States
50. Mississippi
49. Alaska
48. Louisiana
47. New Mexico
46. Hawaii
45. Rhode Island
44. West Virginia
43. Maine
42. New Jersey
41. Arkansas
39. Nevada and Connecticut*
Each state was scored on 88 metrics across a range of categories, including: workforce; infrastructure; cost of doing business; economy; life, health and inclusion; technology and innovation; and business friendliness. CNBC used a wide variety of government and other data to do its analysis. (Click here to see the methodology.)
The workforce category carried the most weight in the 2022 rankings, CNBC said, because so many employers are having a tough time retaining and recruiting workers. Meanwhile, rebuilding the domestic supply chain made infrastructure the second most-prominent category while worries about inflation put the cost of doing business into the third spot.
CNBC has been conducting its America’s Top States for Business analysis since 2007. For more information from the 2022 report click here.
*Note: CNBC did not include a state in the No. 40 spot in its rankings, ranking both Nevada and Connecticut 39th.
Jean Dimeo is the managing editor of Route Fifty.
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