America's Top States for Business 2011 - Cost of Doing Business Rankings

Cost of Doing Business - 2011

Cost is a major consideration when a company chooses a state. We looked at the tax burden, including individual income and property taxes, as well as business taxes, particularly as they apply to new investments. Utility costs can add up to a huge expense for business, and they vary widely by state. We also looked at the cost of wages, as well as rental costs for office and industrial space (rental cost information furnished by CoStar Group).

Here are the ten categories ranked in our study:

     - Cost of Doing Business
     - Workforce
     - Quality of Life
     - Economy
     - Transportation & Infrastructure

     - Technology & Innovation
     - Education
     - Business Friendliness
     - Access to Capital
     - Cost of Living

Overall	State	Cost of Business	Workforce	Quality of Life	Economy	Infrastructure & Transp.	Technology & Innovation	Education	Business Friendliness	Access to Capital	Cost of Living
9	Iowa	1	21	18	5	37	28	15	11	35	14
33	Arkansas	1	10	45	9	40	44	31	44	35	4
16	Missouri	3	33	34	29	9	23	17	25	22	8
35	Kentucky	4	22	46	36	16	36	32	36	34	1
23	Ohio	5	50	42	24	4	15	13	42	21	13
28	Oklahoma	6	22	37	4	35	37	42	24	24	3
13(t)	South Dakota	7	15	5	11	42	49	20	3	35	26
15	Indiana	8	41	40	30	21	22	12	10	14	15
27	Oregon	9	33	20	48	16	20	37	23	19	38
3	North Carolina	9	3	33	41	3	12	18	11	11	22
31	Idaho	11	5	16	38	36	39	45	22	35	12
8	Utah	12	8	14	16	33	25	46	4	23	17
25	Wisconsin	13	46	19	22	22	21	15	28	27	23
37	South Carolina	14	6	42	49	19	26	46	29	35	28
46	West Virginia	15	39	38	13	44	47	38	49	35	16
41	Alabama	16	16	49	39	24	33	44	29	35	11
10	Nebraska	17	17	12	5	31	35	20	5	35	6
4	Georgia	18	4	38	35	2	17	22	16	13	9
18(t)	Tennessee	19	9	47	46	5	24	43	8	26	2
13(t)	North Dakota	20	24	9	1	28	48	23	9	35	19
1	Virginia	21	12	26	8	10	11	6	2	10	24
42	Louisiana	22	25	50	28	26	34	33	26	35	21
7	Minnesota	23	36	8	27	15	16	10	20	16	33
22	Illinois	24	45	28	32	6	6	29	36	5	20
38	Montana	25	30	15	7	34	46	28	46	35	30
40	Maine	26	44	6	34	48	40	9	32	30	39
11	Kansas	27	13	26	16	19	30	24	14	28	7
12	Pennsylvania	27	43	29	19	13	7	8	33	7	31
34	Michigan	27	41	35	36	10	8	34	36	31	18
5	Colorado	30	7	7	26	26	14	30	6	15	33
47	Mississippi	31	20	41	39	32	45	48	45	35	10
36	Delaware	31	19	48	22	40	32	26	1	35	35
2	Texas	33	14	32	14	1	4	27	18	4	5
21	Wyoming	34	11	4	2	38	50	18	21	35	27
45	Nevada	35	18	44	50	25	37	50	17	29	32
43	New Mexico	36	28	24	25	30	31	39	46	25	29
17	New Hampshire	37	40	2	10	45	29	7	6	20	40
24	Arizona	38	1	35	44	10	18	49	13	18	36
29	Maryland	39	38	30	12	39	10	11	18	12	44
18(t)	Florida	40	2	31	47	8	13	35	26	9	25
6	Massachusetts	41	31	10	15	29	3	4	15	2	41
44	Vermont	42	37	3	21	49	40	4	34	32	42
20	Washington	43	26	13	32	18	5	14	31	8	37
30	New Jersey	43	32	16	42	23	8	2	41	6	46
39	Connecticut	45	33	11	44	43	19	3	40	17	47
50	Rhode Island	46	26	24	42	49	27	24	48	35	43
32	California	47	29	22	30	7	1	36	50	1	48
26	New York	48	49	23	20	14	2	1	36	3	45
49	Alaska	49	48	21	3	47	43	41	34	35	49
48	Hawaii	50	47	1	16	46	42	40	43	33	50

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