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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Top States for Business

The 2021 Top States for Doing Business Reflect Their Locational Advantages

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2021)

Despite the economic uncertainty of the last year, plenty of companies continue to grow, and with growth comes the need to expand and explore new locations. The “Top States” in which to locate represent the general views of our expert panel of site consultants, with Georgia ranking #1 for the eighth year in a row. More

2021 Top States Commentary: Pandemic Accelerates Pre-Existing State Trends

Eric Stavriotis, Executive Vice President, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE (Q3 2021)

Pro-business tax structures, responsive state governments, workforce training programs, and site-readiness programs are allowing top-ranked states to hold their positions. More

2021 Top States Commentary: Location Strategies Altered by the Pandemic, But Not Results

Les Cranmer, Senior Managing Director, Savills  (Q3 2021)

Although both the location advisors and economic developers have had limited project experiences during this past year, the 2021 results align with what we have seen in past years. More

2021 Top States Commentary: Commonalities Shared by the Top-Ranked States

Scott Kupperman, Founder, Kupperman Location Solutions (Q3 2021)

Responsive economic developers, clearly defined property solutions, and minimization of risk and cost put states on consultants’ top-10 list. More

2021 Top States Commentary: A Look Behind the Rankings

Benton Blaine, Vice President, Infrastructure & Economic Development, McGuireWoods Consulting (Q3 2021)

While the top states overall remain consistent year-over-year, a deep dive into the data shows some interesting movement in the rankings. More

2021 Top States Commentary: Auto Industry Projects Driving Top-Ranked States

Alexandra Segers, General Manager, Tochi Advisors (Q3 2021)

Their pro-business environments — with skilled labor, top workforce training programs, competitive utility rates, fast permitting processes, and more — have propelled states across the South to be ranked highly for auto-related and other projects. More

2021 Top States Commentary: Top Ranked States Hold Their Positions

Daniel Oney, Managing Director, Newmark (Q3 2021)

Despite increasing competition between states because of rising wages and a lack of ready-to-go sites, the top ranked states have remained consistent year over year. More

2020 Top States for Doing Business Showcase Their Pro-Business Environments

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2020)

Despite changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the states across the South seem to have all their ducks in a row when it comes to attracting business. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Best-in-Class Responsiveness

Jacob Everett , Credit & Incentives Practice, McGuire Sponsel (Q3 2020)

Effective collaboration with and responsiveness from state/regional/local economic developers is highly valued by consultants and business leaders alike. More

2020 Top States Commentary: A Premium on Skills and Training

Chris Schastok, Vice President, Economic Incentives Group (EIG), CBRE, Inc. and Eric Stavriotis, Executive Vice President, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE (Q3 2020)

States having competitive labor markets also have highly regarded training programs. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Partnering, Innovating, and Listening!

Bradley Migdal, Senior Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. (Q3 2020)

The top ranked states continue to innovate and, importantly, they listen in order to adopt policies that reflect changes in the business world. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Lower Business Costs, Decreasing Regulations

Leslie Wagner, Senior Principal, Ginovus (Q3 2020)

A hyper focus on creating business-friendly environments with less burdensome regulations has helped several states move up in the rankings. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Long-Term Economic Development Policies-Constants in a Changing World

Christopher D. Lloyd, Senior Vice President and Director, Infrastructure and Economic Development, McGuireWoods Consulting (Q3 2020)

Companies making expansion and relocation decisions seek consistent and predictable economic development policies, an attribute responsible for the same states receiving a top rank over many years. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Workforce Training, Utility Partners, and Incentive Programs

Bob Cook, Senior Vice President, Latin America, Site Selection Group, LLC (Q3 2020)

Having strong utility partners, along with outstanding workforce training programs and incentive programs, has led to top rankings for the Southeast States. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Investment in Workforce Training and Site-Readiness

Jason Hamman, President and Founder, The Hamman Consulting Group (Q3 2020)

While workforce training is a paramount concern, investing in site-readiness is also critical to meeting client needs and is an attribute of the top ranked states. More

2020 Top States Commentary: Significant Port Access

Walter Kemmsies, Ph.D., Managing Director, Economist and Chief Strategist, U.S. Ports, Airports and Global Infrastructure Group, JLL (Q3 2020)

Access to fast-growing word trade is important to industry, and three of the top five ranked states claim significant ports. More

2019 Top States for Doing Business: Georgia Ranks #1 Sixth Year in a Row

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2019)

The top-ranked states have landed on the radar of today’s site selection consultants because of their low business costs, generous incentive programs, and competitive labor environments, among other probusiness advantages. More

2019 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Southern States Continue to Lead the Pack; Midwest Gains Ground

Lindsey Cannon, Director, Quest Site Solutions (Q3 2019)

Although strong economic development teams and business-friendly policies have helped to draw companies to the Southern States, all states must continue to adapt to the changing site selection environment. More

2019 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Long-Term Perspective Shows Southern States as “Go-To” Places for Business

Les Cranmer, Senior Managing Director, Savills  and Art M. Wegfahrt, Corporate Managing Director, Savills (Q3 2019)

It can be said that shared reasoning garnered through client collaboration, as well as recent experience gained through working on location projects with the various states, validates the results of the most recent Top States survey. More

2019 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: States with Improved Economic Development Policies Rise to the Top

Amy Gerber, Executive Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield (Q3 2019)

Once implemented, changes in economic development policies take many years to achieve the desired results, but the survey rankings show that such changes are having the desired effect. More

2018 Top States for Doing Business: Georgia Ranks #1 Fifth Year in a Row

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine and Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2018)

Competitive labor environments and leading workforce development programs, low taxes and utility costs, favorable regulatory environments, and cooperative state governments are among the top-ranked states’ pro-business attributes. More

2018 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Can Trailing States Catch the Southern Coastal States Leading the Pack?

Von Hatley, Managing Director, Jones Walker Consulting, LLC (Q3 2018)

Those states not rated highly by the responding consultants have an opportunity to create policy to get on the leader board, but the implementation timeline must be longer than any incumbent political administration in order to achieve meaningful results. More

2018 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Southern States Continue Their Domination

Tracy King Sharp, Chief Operating Officer, Boyette Strategic Advisors (Q3 2018)

Favorable business tax climates and competitive labor environments — as well as aggressive utility economic development programs — have helped the Southern States to come out on top. More

2018 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Importance of Addressing the Skill Labor Shortage

Alexander Frei, Senior Vice President, CBRE (Q3 2018)

Elite workforce development programs are helping to offset any skills shortages due to tight labor market conditions. More

2018 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards Recognize States’ Efforts to Attract High-Value Investment & Large Job-Creating Projects

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine and Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2018)

More than 200 projects across multiple states brought with them the promise -- in total -- of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment. More

2017 Top States for Doing Business: Georgia Ranks #1 Fourth Year in a Row

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2017)

The top-ranked states have committed to adding value as economic development leaders and problem-solvers, characteristics that are recognized by consultants to industry. More

2017 Top States Commentary: Cooperative and Responsive State Government Influences the Effectiveness of a Deal

Eric Stavriotis, Executive Vice President, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE and Gabe Kennedy, Research Intern, CBRE (Q3 2017)

Shovel-ready sites, in concert with a cooperative state government and fast permitting time, have created an ideal project backdrop in the southern markets. More

2017 Top States Commentary: Leading States Show a Bi-Partisan Focus on Economic Development

Gregory Burkart, Managing Director and City Leader, Site Selection & Incentives Advisory , Duff & Phelps, LLC (Q3 2017)

The Top States rankings reflect the practicality of working real projects in these states because their economic development organizations work hard to win and locate projects. More

2017 Top States Commentary: Availability of Existing Talent Should Also Be Taken into Account

Brian Corde, Managing Partner, Atlas Insight (Q3 2017)

Shovel-ready sites, speed of permitting, and workforce development programs put the South in the lead, but taking availability of existing talent into account may have place more populous states higher in the rankings. More

2017 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards Recognize States Compiling Healthy Rosters of New and Expanded Facilities

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine and Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2017)

The work of economic development is a complicated mix of salesmanship, customer service, technical and legal expertise, communications, relationship-building, and a healthy dose of good fortune. More

2016 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Power Companies’ Support Helps Top States to Score High

Josh Bays, Principal, Site Selection Group, LLC (Q3 2016)

The majority of the Top States for Doing Business have one severely underrated asset in common: the strong support of well-organized and well-funded power companies. More

2016 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: Top-Performing States Place Significant Emphasis on Economic Development

Andy Mace, Managing Director, Global Business Consulting , Cushman & Wakefield Business Consulting  (Q3 2016)

The top-performing states continually compete against one another to attract business and challenge each other to maintain or improve capabilities. More

2016 Top States for Doing Business: Georgia Back in Top Spot Again

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2016)

There are many factors that go into being a “top state for business” — from labor and real estate costs to the tax and regulatory environment to workforce development programs and more; the states that made the 2016 Top States for Doing Business list scored high in each category. More

2016 Top States for Doing Business Commentary: “Sunshine States” Continue to Lead the Pack

Bradley Migdal, Senior Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. (Q3 2016)

In nine of the top-10 scoring states, weather conditions allow construction 365 days a year, and local governments in the South have also been aggressive in incorporating incentives into every deal. More

2016 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards Recognize States That Have Garnered High-Impact Economic Development Projects

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine and Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2016)

The states receiving this year’s Shovel Awards are being recognized for their large numbers of high-impact economic development projects, including $1 billion+ deals with thousands of new jobs. Six states — California, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, Nevada and Utah — are being awarded Gold Shovels in recognition of projects undertaken in 2015. More

Georgia Once Again Leads the 2015 Top States for Doing Business

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2015)

An attractive business environment, quality labor pool, and well developed infrastructure are among the shared advantages of those states ranked by the location consultants as the top choices for business. More

Top States for Doing Business 2015: Site Selection Consultants Survey Results

Area Development Special Presentation (Q3 2015)

Area Development is publishing our sixth annual Top States for Doing Business survey of site consultants, ranking the states based on their number of mentions by respondents in three overall categories (Business Environment, Labor Climate, Infrastructure and Global Access) and 18 subcategories. More

Top States for Doing Business 2014: Georgia Unseats Texas, Industrial Midwest Rises

Dale D. Buss, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2014)

The list continues to be dominated by states in the South and mid-South as states from the industrial Midwest scratch their way back into position as major players in U.S. economic-development. More

Top States for Doing Business 2014: Site Selection Consultants Survey Results

Area Development Special Presentation (Q3 2014)

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 respondents in three overall categories (Business Environment, Labor Climate, Infrastructure and Global Access) and 18 subcategories. More

South Dominates Consultants’ Picks for Top States

Bill Luttrell, Director of Corporate Real Estate, Werner Enterprises, Inc. (Q3 2014)

The Southern States have reassessed and implemented new economic development strategies designed to attract sustainable industries. More

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