Leading states, such as South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio have been focused on site-readiness for decades and have had demonstrated success with sites of all sizes. These states know what they are doing and have hired consulting teams with expertise to ensure they have their “ducks in a row” when it comes to site due diligence.
In the past two years, Indiana and Kentucky have taken huge steps forward on site-readiness, and both states have been rewarded with large project wins. In the case of Indiana, Eli Lilly has committed to the construction of a new $3.7 billion facility northwest of Indianapolis. Kentucky won a nearly $6 billion new Ford manufacturing facility between Louisville and Bowling Green. Both projects were “statement” wins for their respective states.
No state has the perfect “secret sauce” when it comes to site-readiness. The key thing for communities, regions, and states to do is identifying developable sites that have access to talent, infrastructure, and research assets. Then, the focus needs to turn to the critical due diligence site issues related to the environment, engineering, permitting, and land ownership. Moving down the site-readiness path in this manner positions an area for future success.
TOP STATES FOR DOING BUSINESS 2023
- 1. Georgia
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. North Carolina
- 5. Ohio
- 6. Alabama
- 7. Indiana
- 8. Texas
- 9. Virginia
- 10. Mississippi
- 11. Louisiana
- 12. Arizona
- 13. Michigan
- 14. Kentucky
- 15. Florida
- 16. New York
- 17. Iowa
- 18. Arkansas
- 19. Kansas
- 20. Illinois
Individual Categories
Workforce Training Programs
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Virginia
- 3. South Carolina
- 4. Louisiana
- 5. Alabama
- 6. Tennessee
- 7. North Carolina
- 8. Indiana
- 9. Arizona
- 10. Ohio
Overall Cost of Doing Business
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Alabama
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. South Carolina
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Indiana
- 7. Mississippi
- 8. Ohio
- 9. Texas
- 10. Louisiana
Business Incentives Programs
- 1. Georgia
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. Ohio
- 4. Indiana
- 5. Tennessee
- 6. North Carolina
- 7. Alabama
- 8. Virginia
- 9. Arkansas
- 10. Mississippi
Access to Capital & Funding
- 1. California
- 2. New York
- 3. Texas
- 4. Massachusetts
- 5. Georgia
- 6. Virginia
- 7. Illinois
- 8. North Carolina
- 9.Arizona
- 10. Maryland
Competitive Labor Environment
- 1. Georgia
- 2. North Carolina
- 3. Ohio
- 4. South Carolina
- 5. Indiana
- 6. Texas
- 7. Virginia
- 8. Tennessee
- 9. Arizona
- 10. Alabama
Energy Availability & Costs
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Tennessee
- 3. South Carolina
- 4. Alabama
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Texas
- 7. Washington
- 8. Oregon
- 9. Indiana
- 10. Iowa
Water Availability
- 1. Ohio
- 2. Michigan
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. South Carolina
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Georgia
- 7. New York
- 8. Wisconsin
- 9. Washington
- 10. Virginia
Logistics & Infrastructure
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Texas
- 3. Indiana
- 4. Ohio
- 5. South Carolina
- 6. Virginia
- 7. Tennessee
- 8. Kentucky
- 9. North Carolina
- 10. Illinois
Available Real Estate
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Texas
- 3. Ohio
- 4. Georgia
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Indiana
- 7. Tennessee
- 8. Virginia
- 9. Alabama
- 10. Arizona
Cooperative & Responsive State Government
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Tennessee
- 3. North Carolina
- 4. South Carolina
- 5. Ohio
- 6. Indiana
- 7. Virginia
- 8. Alabama
- 9. Arizona
- 10. Michigan
Corporate Tax Structure
- 1. Florida
- 2. North Carolina
- 3. Texas
- 4. Tennessee
- 5. Indiana
- 6. Georgia
- 7. Nevada
- 8. South Dakota
- 9. Ohio
- 10. Arizona
Site-Readiness Programs
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Georgia
- 3. Ohio
- 4. Tennessee
- 5. Indiana
- 6. North Carolina
- 7. Virginia
- 8. Alabama
- 9. Kentucky
- 10. Iowa
Favorable Regulatory Environment
- 1. Alabama
- 2. South Carolina
- 3. Georgia
- 4. Tennessee
- 5. North Carolina
- 6. Indiana
- 7. Ohio
- 8. Texas
- 9. Louisiana
- 10. Mississippi
Speed of Project Permitting
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Alabama
- 3. Georgia
- 4. Mississippi
- 5. Tennessee
- 6. Indiana
- 7. Virginia
- 8. Ohio
- 9. Iowa
- 10. North Carolina
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Categories:
- Workforce Training Programs
- Overall Cost of Doing Business
- Business Incentive Programs
- Access to Capital & Funding
- Competitive Labor Market
- Energy Availability & Costs
- Water Availability
- Logistics & Infrastructure
- Available Real Estate
- Cooperative & Responsive State Government
- Corporate Tax Structure
- Site-Readiness Programs
- Favorable Regulatory Environment
- Speed of Project Permitting