41. Alabama

The Heart of Dixie offers an affordable place to live and do business, but also a sluggish economy and a poor education system.

Category
Score
2015 Rank
2014 Rank
Workforce 203 32 (Tie) 20
Cost of Doing Business 218 19 4
Infrastructure 174 31 21
Economy 121 44 (Tie) 40
Quality of Life 93 42 46
Technology & Innovation 112 30 (Tie) 31
Education 63 46 47
Business Friendliness 61 28 (Tie) 38
Cost of Living 65 8 (Tie) 7
Access to Capital 31 20 45
Overall 1141 41 34

Economic Profile

Governor: Robert Bentley, Republican

Population: 4,849,377

GDP growth: 0.7 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2015): 6.1 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 6.5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 5 percent

Gasoline tax: 39 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aa1/stable

Major private employer: Wal-Mart, Regions Bank

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

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