CNBC Study Ranks Texas as No. 1 Business Climate in the Nation
AUSTIN – Texas is America’s Top State for Business, according to a CNBC study that scored each state based on 40 different measures of competitiveness.
“This designation reinforces the fact that the Lone Star State is the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulations and skilled workforce,” Gov. Perry said. “These policies have helped keep our economy comparatively strong through the national economic downturn, and will continue to make us globally competitive in the future.”
CNBC scored each state using publicly available data to determine the rankings. States received points based on ten broad categories including: cost of doing business, workforce, economy, education, quality of life, technology and innovation, transportation, cost of living, business friendliness, and access to capital.
This ranking adds to the growing list of accolades for Texas’ business climate. No other state is home to more Fortune 500 companies, and Texas is the nation’s leading exporting state for the eighth year in a row. Additionally, Texas was recently named the “Best State to Do Business” by CEO Magazine for the sixth year in a row, and six of Texas’ metro areas were listed as “America’s Recovery Capitals” by Forbes and Moody’s Economy.
Texas created more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the last 10 years. Additionally, Texas’ unemployment rate remained steady at 8.3 percent in May, well below the national average.
