We have a winner—and a new champion!
South Dakota has climbed to the top of America's Top States for Business for 2013.
It is the best finish yet for the Mount Rushmore State, which has always been a quiet contender in our annual study, rarely finishing outside the Top 10. But more impressive, South Dakota's point total this year—1,639 out of a possible 2,500—is the highest logged by any state since we began keeping score in 2007.
(Read more: More Than Mount Rushmore by SD Gov. Daugaard)
Each year, we rate all 50 states on more than 50 metrics in 10 categories of competitiveness. We weight the categories based on how frequently they appear as selling points in state economic development marketing materials. That way, we hold the states to their own standards. You can read more about our methodology here.
This year's categories and point values are:
- Cost of Doing Business (450 points)
- Economy (375 points)
- Infrastructure (350 points)
- Workforce (300 points)
- Quality of Life (300 points)
- Technology & Innovation (300 points)
- Business Friendliness (200 points)
- Education (150 points)
- Cost of Living (50 points)
- Access to Capital (25 points)
In many ways, the competitive landscape—and our study—shifted in South Dakota's direction this year. A wave of tax cutting following the 2010 Republican sweep of statehouses across the country has led to a wave of states touting their low costs of doing business. This is more than just politics, and claims about low costs are hardly limited to Republican administrations. After all, the message falls on very receptive ears. Business leaders and groups we consult for our study consistently put cost at the top of their criteria.