North Carolina ranked first again in CNBC’s annual Top States for Business study for the third time in four years.
The state ranked No. 2 in last year’s study, after topping the ranking in 2022 and 2023.
The rating by the cable network has become an important marketing metric for the state’s economic development officials. North Carolina remains only the second state named to the top spot back-to-back since CNBC started the rankings in 2007.
CNBC’s exclusive study scores the states on 135 metrics across 10 categories of competitiveness. The methodology is based on factors that companies consider when making site selection decisions. The economic development marketing pitches of every state are analyzed to determine the appropriate weight for each category.
CNBC noted that North Carolina had a well-rounded performance, finishing in the top five in Economy, Workforce, and Business Friendliness, and ranking sixth in Education. It cited the state’s momentum with JetZero announcing plans for a factory in Greensboro that may create as many as 14,500 jobs, along with Amazon’s plan for a $10 billion data center in Richmond County.
The state was ranked 29th for Quality of Life, which CNBC said stems from a
lack of basic worker protections. The state is among the least unionized states.
The highest-weighted categories are economic strength (17.8%), infrastructure (16.2%), workforce (13.4%), cost of doing business (11.8%) and business friendliness (10.8%). In previous years, CNBC has given the highest weight to infrastructure and workforce.
“North Carolina has been on a roll for years now,” said CNBC’s Scott Cohn, who oversees the study. “With its world-class workforce, a solid economy, and a heritage of innovation, North Carolina keeps winning business, and keeps winning our rankings.”
Gov. Josh Stein appeared on CNBC to discuss the ranking.
“Our strength lies in our ability to connect companies with the workforce, infrastructure, sites, industry ecosystems, and innovation resources needed to support their growth, as well as a business-friendly environment that’s especially valuable in times of economic uncertainty,” Chris Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, said in a release. “From one of the nation’s top community college systems and the nation’s oldest public university to our modern transportation networks and robust utility capacity, North Carolina is built for growth.”
Texas, Florida, Virginia and Ohio rounded out the top four states in CNBC’s study. Tennessee came in eighth, while South Carolina ranked 19th.
The bottom five states were Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island and Louisiana.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.