Forbes Ranks NC as Best State for Business

North Carolina is the nation’s best state for business in 2017, according to the business magazine Forbes.

The state has been a perennial contender for the publisher’s top rankings, finishing in the top five places for 12 straight years before winning the top spot this year. An improved employment outlook and the second-lowest business costs for labor, energy and taxes vaulted North Carolina to the top in 2017, after a No. 2 ranking last year.

“North Carolina has built one of the country’s strongest business climates over the past two decades, fueled by low business costs, incentives and a young, educated workforce, many of whom have been trained at the strong universities in the state and the Research Triangle Park,” Forbes reporter Kurt Badenhausen wrote in a story about the state rankings.

Another plus for North Carolina is that the state has the second-smallest unionized workforce in the nation as a percentage of its total employment, Forbes said. Consequently, labor costs are 10 percent below the national average and fifth-lowest in the country.

Also, migration rates into North Carolina are among the highest of any state, Forbes said.

To compile its annual rankings, Forbes considered 41 metrics from 17 sources to assess each state’s business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. North Carolina is the only state to rank among the top 20 states in all categories.

Joining North Carolina in the top-five business states are Texas, Utah, Nebraska and Virginia. West Virginia ranks as the worst state for business for the third consecutive year, right below New Mexico, Vermont and Alaska.