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Chief Executive’s eighth annual
survey of best states to do business shows Another Triumph
for Texas
In Chief Executive’s eighth annual survey of CEO opinion of
Best and Worst States in which
to do business, Texas easily clinched
the No. 1 rank, the eighth
successive time it has done
so. California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year.
This year, 650 business leaders responded
to our annual survey, up from 550 in 2011. CEOs were asked to grade states in which they do business among a variety of areas, including tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment.
The Lone Star State was given high marks foremost for its business-friendly tax and regulatory environment. But its workforce quality, second only to Utah’s, is also highly
regarded.
Florida moved up from number three last year to number two.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Texas and
Florida have the highest net migration of people to
their states from 2001 to
2009. (By contrast, New York and California lost over 1.6
million and 1.5 million in net migration out of the states, respectively, over the same period.)
It may be no accident that most of the states in the
top 20 are also right-to-work
states, as labor force flexibility
is highly sought after when a business seeks a
location.
California’s enduring
place of perpetual decline
continues in this year’s
ranking. Once the most
attractive business environment, the Golden State appears to slip deeper into the ninth circle of business hell. The economy, which used to outperform the rest of the country, now substantially underperforms.
And its status as the most ruinously contentious place to operate remains undisturbed in eight years. Its unemployment rate, at 10.9 percent, is higher than every
other state except Nevada
and Rhode Island.
With 12 percent of America’s
population, California has one-third
of the nation’s welfare
recipients. Each year, the evidence that businesses are leaving California or avoid locating there because of the high cost of doing business due to excessive state taxes and stringent regulations, grows.
Bottom 10
Please consider a Slideshow of the Bottom 10.
Illinois is trying hard
for that top spot, but California
and New York are tough competition.
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