40. Arkansas

Bill Barksdale | Getty Images

A farmer surveys a rice crop in Arkansas. 

Category	Score	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	186	43	37	C-
Infrastructure	231	12	12 (Tie)	B
Cost of Doing Business	257	1	7 (Tie)	A+
Economy	127	39	32	D+
Quality of Life	81	50	47	F
Technology & Innovation	57	47	48	F
Education	66	42	38	D-
Business Friendliness	53	40	39	D+
Access to Capital	29	36	32 (Tie)	D
Cost of Living	49	2	4	A+
Overall	1136	40	41	-

Economic Profile

Governor: Asa Hutchinson, Republican

Population: 3,004,279

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 2.5 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 3.8 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 6.5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 6.9 percent

Gasoline tax: 21.50 cents/gallon

Bond rating: (Moody's/S&P): Aa1, stable/AA, stable

Major private employers: Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart Stores

Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute (excluding 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody's Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Overall Rankings 2018