Why Texas is the top state for business in America: Gov. Greg Abbott

• The Texas economy has an annual GDP of $1.7 trillion, making it the 10th-largest economy in the world.
• New-business formation is at a five-year high in Texas.
• Texas is leading the nation in private-sector job creation.

The Texas economy is the fastest-growing in the nation. More Texans are working than ever before as the Lone Star State leads in private-sector job creation — over the month, over the year and over the past 10 years. And jobs in Texas are now on pace for the strongest growth in four years.

This is not accidental.

Over the past four years in my first term as governor, we've spurred the Texas economy by cutting taxes and regulations, by investing in our roads and infrastructure and by focusing on developing a world-class workforce.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott

It’s no surprise then that Texas is also growing faster than the nation. More than half of our population growth is from newly born Texans. And Texas is by far the “stickiest” state: More than 8 in 10 of those born in Texas stay in Texas.

Freedom is a magnet.

Innovation and self-reliance are deeply rooted in the Lone Star State, and when freed from the stranglehold of over taxation and overregulation, new ideas flourish. By limiting senseless government restrictions, the opportunity to succeed in business is as limitless as the land itself.

But more than the bounty of land, our greatest natural resource in Texas is our growing, skilled and productive workforce. It’s why Texas is the top exporting state, the top tech exporting state and the top state for jobs created by foreign and domestic investment. In fact, when you combine all goods and services produced by the people and businesses in the Lone Star State, Texas has an annual GDP of $1.7 trillion, making our economy the 10th-largest among the nations of the world.

But there’s more to the story.

When given the freedom to aspire, Texans risk their own capital and invest in themselves and others by opening businesses large and small. And success is contagious. New business formation in Texas is at a five-year high. Start-ups are growing here right alongside Fortune 500 companies and more than 2.6 million small businesses. It’s no surprise that Texas is ranked by CEOs as the best state for doing business, now for the 14th year in a row. As one Texas entrepreneur puts it: “If you like big ideas ... build your business in Texas.”

To keep Texas the best state to build a business big or small, I will continue to implement a blueprint for a new era of economic expansion. Texas remains focused on the formula for success: reforming taxes, removing regulatory barriers, encouraging participation in the sharing economy, improving our education system and securing Texans’ freedom — because liberty is the root of prosperity.

That is a blueprint for success for Texas and any state in the nation.

— By Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas. Texas took the top spot in the CNBC 2018 America's Top States for Business ranking .