43. Mississippi

The Magnolia State is the cheapest to live in and second cheapest for business. But innovation and economic strength are lacking.

Published 4:20 PM ET Wed, 24 June 2015 Updated 2:54 PM ET Mon, 13 June 2016 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2015 Rank	2014 Rank
Workforce	228	21	17
Cost of Doing Business	259	2 (Tie)	4
Infrastructure	195	23 (Tie)	31
Economy	81	50	26
Quality of Life	113	39	38
Technology & Innovation	59	48	47
Education	53	47 (Tie)	48
Business Friendliness	15	48 (Tie)	49
Cost of Living	75	1	6
Access to Capital	18	33 (Tie)	31
Overall	1096	43	36

Economic Profile

Governor: Phil Bryant, Republican

Population: 2,994,079

GDP growth: -1.2 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2015): 6.7 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 5 percent

Gasoline tax: 37 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aa2/stable

Major private employer: Nissan North America Inc.

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Harrison County Development Commission

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