Best and Worst States for Business
DCI’s “Rating of the States” has consistently received intense attention from both the news media and the economic development community.
To determine which states are winning the “perception” contest, we asked survey respondents to name three states perceived as having the most favorable business climates in the United States. We also asked the same audience to select the three states they perceive as having the least favorable business climates among the 50 states.
The Top Five
| 1. Texas | 49.4% |
| 2. North Carolina | 27.8% |
| 3. South Carolina | 14.3% |
| 4. Tennessee | 13.9% |
| 5. Florida | 13.5% |
The Bottom Five
| 50. California | 70.5% |
| 49. New York | 46.5% |
| 48. Illinois | 24.4% |
| 47. New Jersey | 23.5% |
| 46. Michigan | 16.1% |
The list of “least favorable business climates” has remained remarkably consistent over the years. California and New York have swapped the first and second place spots on this list since DCI first conducted the survey in 1996, with California in first place and New York in second place since 2002.
Why did the respondents select these states? What qualities are associated with a winning business climate?
Common themes of low operating costs and a pro-business environment emerge for the top five. Positive responses emphasized costs, low taxes and incentive offerings, while negative opinions cited high taxes, anti-business climates and fiscal problems/state deficits.
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