Area Development
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With that in mind, Area Development is publishing our fifth annual Top States for Doing Business survey of site consultants, ranking the states based on their number of mentions by the consultants in three overall categories and 18 subcategories, Business Environment, Labor Climate and Infrastructure and Global Access:

Top States For Doing Business 2014

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.Texas
  3. 3.South Carolina
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.Tennessee
  6. 6.Louisiana
  7. 7.Indiana
  8. 8.North Carolina
  9. 9.Ohio
  10. 10.Mississippi
Analysis and Profiles of Top 10 States

Business Environment

Overall Rank

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 3.South Carolina
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 4.tLouisiana
  6. 5.Florida

Overall Cost of Doing Business

  1. 1.South Carolina
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 3.Texas
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.Louisiana

Incentives Programs

  1. 1.Louisiana
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Georgia
  4. 4.Texas
  5. 5.Alabama

Corporate Tax Environment

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Nevada
  3. 3.Florida
  4. 4.South Dakota
  5. 5.tIndiana
  6. 5.tTennessee
  7. 5.tUtah
  8. 5.tWyoming

Cooperative State Government

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Louisiana
  4. 4.Texas
  5. 5.Alabama

Access to Capital & Project Funding

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 3.California
  4. 4.New York
  5. 5.South Carolina

Speed of Permitting

  1. 1.Alabama
  2. 2.tTexas
  3. 2.tGeorgia
  4. 3.South Carolina
  5. 4.Louisiana
  6. 5.tMississippi

Most Favorable Regulatory Environment

  1. 1.Arizona
  2. 2.Texas
  3. 3.tLouisiana
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.tGeorgia
  6. 5.tSouth Carolina

Labor Climate

Overall Rank

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Texas
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.North Carolina

Availability of Skilled Labor

  1. 1.tMichigan
  2. 1.tIndiana
  3. 2.Ohio
  4. 3.Texas
  5. 4.tCalifornia
  6. 4.tNorth Carolina
  7. 5.Illinois

Competitive Labor Costs

  1. 1.Alabama
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Mississippi
  4. 4.Texas
  5. 5.Georgia

Leading Work Force Development Programs

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.Louisiana
  3. 3.South Carolina
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.tNorth Carolina

Labor Climate (Right-to-Work States)

  1. 1.South Carolina
  2. 2.tTexas
  3. 3.tGeorgia
  4. 3.tNorth Carolina
  5. 4.Alabama
  6. 5.tMississippi

Labor Climate (Non-Right-to-Work States)

  1. 1.Missouri
  2. 2.Kentucky
  3. 3.Ohio
  4. 4.New Mexico
  5. 5.Colorado

Overall Infrastructure & Global Access

Overall Rank

  1. 1.Tennessee
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 3.Texas
  4. 4.Ohio
  5. 5.Illinois

Distribution/Supply Chain Hubs

  1. 1.Tennessee
  2. 2.Illinois
  3. 3.tGeorgia
  4. 3.tIndiana
  5. 3.tTexas
  6. 4.Ohio
  7. 5.California

Rail & Highway Accessibility

  1. 1.Illinois
  2. 2.Texas
  3. 3.tGeorgia
  4. 3.tOhio
  5. 4.Indiana
  6. 5.Tennessee

Certified Sites/Shovel-Ready Program

  1. 1.Tennessee
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Georgia
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 4.tNorth Carolina

Competitive Utility Rates

  1. 1.Alabama
  2. 2.tTennessee
  3. 2.tKentucky
  4. 3.tGeorgia
  5. 3.tLouisiana
  6. 3.tSouth Carolina
  7. 4.tArkansas
  8. 4.tTexas
  9. 4.t
  10. 5.tMississippi
  11. 5.tNorth Carolina

Energy Reliability / Smart Grid Deployment

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 3.North Carolina
  4. 4.Tennessee
  5. 5.Ohio

Water Outlook (Availability & Cost)

  1. 1.Michigan
  2. 2.Indiana
  3. 3.tOhio
  4. 3.tWisconsin
  5. 4.Illinois
  6. 5.tMinnesota
  7. 5.tTennessee