7. Washington

While the costs of living and doing business are high, the Evergreen State’s economy stands tall, innovation is flourishing, and the quality of life is good.

Published 4:21 PM ET Tue, 24 June 2014 Updated 3:25 PM ET Wed, 2 July 2014 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2014 Rank	2013 Rank
Cost of Doing Business	183	34	44
Workforce	155	24	24
Quality of Life	225	6	10
Infrastructure & Transportation	206	17	31
Economy	310	2	24
Education	77	25	28
Technology & Innovation	246	4	4
Business Friendliness	109	23	23
Cost of Living	13	38 (Tie)	36
Access to Capital	21	9 (Tie)	7
Overall	1545	7	21

Economic Profile

Governor: Jay inslee, Democrat

Population: 6,971,406

GDP growth: 2.7 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2014): 6.1 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 0 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 0 percent

Gasoline tax: 56 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aa1/stable

Major private employer: Boeing

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington FY 2013 CAFR

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