9. North Carolina

The Tar Heel State sticks in the Top 10 this year, tying with California for No. 1 in access to capital. But it lags in education.

Published 4:24 PM ET Wed, 24 June 2015 Updated 2:18 PM ET Mon, 13 June 2016 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2015 Rank	2014 Rank
Workforce	237	16 (Tie)	4
Cost of Doing Business	220	17 (Tie)	23
Infrastructure	195	23 (Tie)	21
Economy	237	6	4
Quality of Life	137	33 (Tie)	34
Technology & Innovation	174	10	12
Education	95	30	33
Business Friendliness	90	17	19
Cost of Living	42	23	14
Access to Capital	50	1 (Tie)	17
Overall	1477	9	5

Economic Profile

Governor: Pat McCrory, Republican

Population: 9,943,964

GDP growth: 1.4 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2015): 5.7 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 5.75 percent

Gasoline tax: 54 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aaa/stable

Major private employer: Wal-Mart

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Carolina FY 2014 CAFR

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