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Area Development

Top States for Doing Business 2013: Site Consultant Survey Results

Q3 / Summer 2013
As the economy improves and states continue to vie for new investment and jobs, they also seek the attention of site consultants who help companies make their new facility and expansion decisions. With that in mind, Area Development’s fourth annual Top States for Doing Business survey of site consultants ranks the states based on their number of mentions in 17 categories (scores were weighted based on position in each category and then overall).

States were ranked on factors in the following categories: Business Environment (costs, taxes and regulations, incentives, etc.), Labor Climate (diversity, costs, development programs, etc.); and Infrastructure and Global Access (rail/highway access, shovel-ready sites, utility rates, logistics access). Following is more detailed information on the attributes of the top-10 states that provides insight into the rankings. Additionally, several site consultants who participated in the survey offer their comments.

Top States For Doing Business 2013

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Georgia
  3. 2.tSouth Carolina
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.North Carolina
  6. 6.Louisiana
  7. 7.Tennessee
  8. 8.Florida
  9. 9.Mississippi
  10. 10.California
Top State's Analysis

Consultant's Commentary

Ann Petersen, Senior Associate, Business and Economic Incentives, Jones Lang LaSalle Dan Levine, Principal, MetroCompare LLC Robert Hess, Executive Managing Director; Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Global Corporate Services Andrew Shapiro, Managing Director, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company

Business Environment

Overall Rank

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

Overall Cost of Doing Business

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.tAlabama
  4. 3.tNorth Carolina
  5. 4.Louisiana
  6. 5.tGeorgia
  7. 5.tMississippi
  8. 5.tTennessee

Incentive Programs

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.tGeorgia
  3. 2.tLouisiana
  4. 3.tAlabama
  5. 3.tSouth Carolina
  6. 4.North Carolina
  7. 5.tMississippi
  8. 5.tOklahoma
  9. 5.tTennessee

Corporate Tax Environment

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Nevada
  4. 4.Georgia
  5. 5.Florida

Cooperative State Government

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

Access to Capital & Project Funding

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Florida
  3. 3.North Carolina
  4. 4.tCalifornia
  5. 4.tGeorgia
  6. 5.Virginia

Speed of Permitting

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.tAlabama
  3. 2.tSouth Carolina
  4. 3.tGeorgia
  5. 4.Louisiana
  6. 5.tMississippi
  7. 5.tTennessee

Renewed Consideration Post-Recession

  1. 1.Florida
  2. 2.Louisiana
  3. 3.tIndiana
  4. 3.tTexas
  5. 4.tMichigan
  6. 4.tSouth Carolina
  7. 5.tArizona
  8. 5.tOhio

Most Favorable Regulatory Environment

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.Arizona
  3. 3.tAlabama
  4. 3.tLouisiana
  5. 3.tSouth Carolina
  6. 4.Georgia
  7. 5.Mississippi
Categories: Overall Rank Cost of Doing Business Incentive Programs Corporate Tax Environment Cooperative State Government Access to Capital & Project Funding Speed of Permitting Renewed Consideration Post-Recession Most Favorable Regulatory Environment

Labor Climate

Overall Rank

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.tAlabama
  4. 3.tGeorgia
  5. 3.tNorth Carolina
  6. 4.California
  7. 5.Kentucky

Availability of Skilled Labor

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.North Carolina
  3. 3.tCalifornia
  4. 3.tMichigan
  5. 4.Georgia
  6. 5.Massachusetts

Competitive Labor Costs

  1. 1.Alabama
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Mississippi
  4. 4.Texas
  5. 5.tGeorgia
  6. 5.tLouisiana
  7. 5.tNorth Carolina

Leading Work Force Development Programs

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.tLouisiana
  4. 3.tNorth Carolina
  5. 4.Alabama
  6. 5.tFlorida
  7. 5.tVirginia

Most Diverse Labor Pool

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.California
  3. 3.Florida
  4. 4.New York
  5. 5.Georgia

Right-to-Work Environment

  1. 1.South Carolina
  2. 2.tAlabama
  3. 2.tTexas
  4. 3.tNorth Carolina
  5. 4.Georgia
  6. 5.tMississippi
  7. 5.tTennessee

Non-Right-to-Work Environment

  1. 1.Kentucky
  2. 2.Ohio
  3. 3.New Mexico
  4. 4.tMissouri
  5. 4.tPennsylvania
  6. 5.tColorado
  7. 5.tWest Virginia
Categories: Overall Rank Availability of Skilled Labor Competitive Labor Costs Leading Work Force Development Programs Most Diverse Labor Pool Right-to-Work Environment Non-Right-to-Work Environment

Overall Infrastructure & Global Access

Overall Rank

  1. 1.Tennessee
  2. 2.tGeorgia
  3. 2.tTexas
  4. 3.tIllinois
  5. 3.tSouth Carolina
  6. 4.Alabama
  7. 5.tIndiana
  8. 5.tNorth Carolina

Rail & Highway Accessibility

  1. 1.Georgia
  2. 2.Texas
  3. 3.Illinois
  4. 4.tIndiana
  5. 4.tTennessee
  6. 5.Ohio

Certified Sites/Shovel-Ready Program

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

Competitive Utility Rates

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

Distribution & Logistics Access

  1. 1.Tennessee
  2. 2.Texas
  3. 3.Georgia
  4. 4.Illinois
  5. 5.Indiana
Categories: Overall Rank Rail & Highway Accessibility Certified Sites/Shovel-Ready Program Competitive Utility Rates Distribution & Logistics Access

States Most-Mentioned By Respondents

(without regard to ranking in 17 categories)

  1. 1.Texas
  2. 2.South Carolina
  3. 3.Georgia
  4. 4.Alabama
  5. 5.North Carolina
  6. 6.Tennessee
  7. 7.Louisiana
  8. 8.Florida
  9. 9.Indiana
  10. 10.Virginia
  11. 11.Mississippi
  12. 12.Ohio
  13. 13.Kentucky
  14. 14.Arkansas
  15. 15.tOklahoma
  16. 15.tMichigan

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