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By Hugh Cameron
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CNBC published its annual ranking of America's "top states for business" on Thursday, recognizing where companies are most—and least—likely to find favorable conditions for long-term success.
Why It Matters
For companies weighing where to establish headquarters or facilities, such rankings signal a state's willingness to adopt business-friendly policies. A city that has a high score can encourage more people to consider it a possible location, ultimately injecting more money into local economies, boosting tax revenues and freeing up budgets for business- and non-business-related policy priorities.
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Securing a high ranking in annual lists such as this is also a major bragging point for state officials, who routinely share the news and consider it evidence that their policies, regulatory structures, and investments in things such as infrastructure are paying off and setting the stage for further economic growth.
What To Know
In creating its 2025 ranking of America's best states for business, CNBC tracked how each ranked across 135 metrics, centered around those qualities that drive businesses to select a location to set up shop. In this year's list, CNBC said it added new metrics to "gauge the states' risks from a trade war and a shrinking federal budget," two issues which have gained prominence since President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January.
The map below shows CNBC's overall rankings of the best states for business, alongside where each state places across 10 "categories of competitiveness."
The top 10 best states for business include:
- North Carolina
- Texas
- Florida
- Virginia
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- Minnesota
The Tar Heel state scored strongly in terms of overall economic stability and strength, the quality of the state's workforce, and "business friendliness"—defined by CNBC as possessing a "legal and regulatory framework that does not overburden business."
CNBC noted that these qualities have made North Carolina an attractive location for companies to establish facilities, such as Amazon, which in June announced a $10 billion investment in new data centers in the state.
Massachusetts, meanwhile, made the greatest gains in this year's rankings, jumping 18 places to number 20. CNBC attributed this to the state not being overly reliant on federal funding—this comprising on 30 percent of its spending last year, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). It therefore benefitted from CNBC's new metric measuring the risks of a declining federal budget.
Bottom of the list was Alaska, which scored poorly across all categories, and whose economy has been weighed down by its reliance on oil, CNBC said.
What People Are Saying
Tom O'Leary, CEO and co-founder of aviation startup JetZero, upon announcing that his company would build its first factory in Greensboro earlier this year, said: "North Carolina offers the ideal combination of talent, infrastructure, and forward-thinking leadership to support our mission to reshape aviation."
North Carolina's Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said of the new rankings in a Thursday statement: "This recognition reflects our relentless commitment to building a competitive, welcoming, and dynamic economy that creates opportunity for everyone."
"From our world-class workforce to our strategic investments in infrastructure, education, and innovation, North Carolina continues to lead the way as a place where businesses thrive, and communities prosper," he added. "We share this success with all of our partners across the public and private sectors and look forward to building on this momentum."
Corporate site selection expert and consultant John Boyd told Newsweek: "North Carolina's superior ranking in recent years is an affirmation of the pro-business, common ground found by the Governor's Office and the legislature, most recently between Governor Stein and House Speaker Destin Hall, with transformative projects like Boom Aerospace and JetZero under both of their belts."
He added: "Texas has a superior state business climate and has been a popular landing spot for companies and job creators exiting costly and difficult markets like New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Texas has no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, a favorable tort system and a generous incentive program to lure new business and a large and diverse workforce."
Update 07/11/25 11:32 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Boyd.
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