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2023 Top States Commentary: Top-20 States Demonstrate Success in Winning Projects

The top ranked states are leveraging their assets and positioning themselves for future economic development success.

Q3 2023
Several familiar states are on Area Development’s 2023 Top States for Doing Business list, including Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and Texas. These states share similar traits: good overall business climates, predictable regulatory and permitting processes, developable sites, and responsive economic development organizations. These states continue to win projects because they are strategic, opportunistic, and pro-active.

It is important to note the presence of some states that have not appeared on the top-20 list as near the top as they are this year or at all. These states reflect well on their respective state’s economic development organizations and team members. In addition, they have demonstrated success in winning projects and addressing key issues impacting site selection decisions.

No state is perfect, and every state has policies or other attributes that need to be made better. Talent, infrastructure, real estate, quality of place, tax structure, regulatory environment, and economic development incentives all have an important role to play in the site selection process for corporate decision-makers.

The lesson learned from the states appearing on this list is that they are proactively working on their weaknesses, leveraging their assets, and have talented economic development officials focused on growing the economies of their cities, regions, and states. As a result, they have established a demonstrated track record of success and positioned themselves well for the future. The closing message to all economic development officials is to not get complacent and continue to innovate for long-term success.

TOP STATES FOR DOING BUSINESS 2023

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. South Carolina
  3. 3. Tennessee
  4. 4. North Carolina
  5. 5. Ohio
  6. 6. Alabama
  7. 7. Indiana
  8. 8. Texas
  9. 9. Virginia
  10. 10. Mississippi
  11. 11. Louisiana
  12. 12. Arizona
  13. 13. Michigan
  14. 14. Kentucky
  15. 15. Florida
  16. 16. New York
  17. 17. Iowa
  18. 18. Arkansas
  19. 19. Kansas
  20. 20. Illinois

Individual Categories

Workforce Training Programs

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. Virginia
  3. 3. South Carolina
  4. 4. Louisiana
  5. 5. Alabama
  6. 6. Tennessee
  7. 7. North Carolina
  8. 8. Indiana
  9. 9. Arizona
  10. 10. Ohio

Overall Cost of Doing Business

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. Alabama
  3. 3. Tennessee
  4. 4. South Carolina
  5. 5. North Carolina
  6. 6. Indiana
  7. 7. Mississippi
  8. 8. Ohio
  9. 9. Texas
  10. 10. Louisiana

Business Incentives Programs

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. South Carolina
  3. 3. Ohio
  4. 4. Indiana
  5. 5. Tennessee
  6. 6. North Carolina
  7. 7. Alabama
  8. 8. Virginia
  9. 9. Arkansas
  10. 10. Mississippi

Access to Capital & Funding

  1. 1. California
  2. 2. New York

  3. 3. Texas
  4. 4. Massachusetts
  5. 5. Georgia
  6. 6. Virginia
  7. 7. Illinois
  8. 8. North Carolina
  9. 9.Arizona
  10. 10. Maryland

Competitive Labor Environment

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. North Carolina
  3. 3. Ohio
  4. 4. South Carolina
  5. 5. Indiana
  6. 6. Texas
  7. 7. Virginia
  8. 8. Tennessee
  9. 9. Arizona
  10. 10. Alabama

Energy Availability & Costs

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. Tennessee
  3. 3. South Carolina
  4. 4. Alabama
  5. 5. North Carolina
  6. 6. Texas
  7. 7.
  8. 8. Oregon
  9. 9. Indiana
  10. 10. Iowa

Water Availability

  1. 1. Ohio
  2. 2. Michigan
  3. 3. Tennessee
  4. 4. South Carolina
  5. 5. North Carolina
  6. 6. Georgia
  7. 7. New York
  8. 8. Wisconsin
  9. 9.
  10. 10. Virginia

Logistics & Infrastructure

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. Texas
  3. 3. Indiana
  4. 4. Ohio
  5. 5. South Carolina
  6. 6. Virginia
  7. 7. Tennessee
  8. 8. Kentucky
  9. 9. North Carolina
  10. 10. Illinois

Available Real Estate

  1. 1. South Carolina
  2. 2. Texas
  3. 3. Ohio
  4. 4. Georgia
  5. 5. North Carolina
  6. 6. Indiana
  7. 7. Tennessee
  8. 8. Virginia
  9. 9. Alabama
  10. 10. Arizona

Cooperative & Responsive State Government

  1. 1. Georgia
  2. 2. Tennessee
  3. 3. North Carolina
  4. 4. South Carolina
  5. 5. Ohio
  6. 6. Indiana
  7. 7. Virginia
  8. 8. Alabama
  9. 9. Arizona
  10. 10. Michigan

Corporate Tax Structure

  1. 1. Florida
  2. 2. North Carolina
  3. 3. Texas
  4. 4. Tennessee
  5. 5. Indiana
  6. 6. Georgia
  7. 7. Nevada
  8. 8. South Dakota
  9. 9. Ohio
  10. 10. Arizona

Site-Readiness Programs

  1. 1. South Carolina
  2. 2. Georgia
  3. 3. Ohio
  4. 4. Tennessee
  5. 5. Indiana
  6. 6. North Carolina
  7. 7. Virginia
  8. 8. Alabama
  9. 9. Kentucky
  10. 10. Iowa

Favorable Regulatory Environment

  1. 1. Alabama
  2. 2. South Carolina
  3. 3. Georgia
  4. 4. Tennessee
  5. 5. North Carolina
  6. 6. Indiana
  7. 7. Ohio
  8. 8. Texas
  9. 9. Louisiana
  10. 10. Mississippi

Speed of Project Permitting

  1. 1. South Carolina
  2. 2. Alabama
  3. 3. Georgia
  4. 4. Mississippi
  5. 5. Tennessee
  6. 6. Indiana
  7. 7. Virginia
  8. 8. Ohio
  9. 9. Iowa
  10. 10. North Carolina

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