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18. Iowa

You’ll be flying high with the Hawkeye State’s quality of life. But worker shortages are clipping some companies’ wings.

CNBC.com staff | @CNBC

Published 8:31 AM ET Tue, 10 July 2018 CNBC.com

Grass-fed dairy cattle roam a section of pasture on the farm belonging to Amish farmer James Swantz in Kalona, Iowa.

Rachel Mummey | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Grass-fed dairy cattle roam a section of pasture on the farm belonging to Amish farmer James Swantz in Kalona, Iowa.

Category	Score	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	191	39	42	C-
Infrastructure	203	24	23	C+
Cost of Doing Business	244	6	10	A+
Economy	132	34	21	C-
Quality of Life	214	7	9	B+
Technology & Innovation	116	26	25	C
Education	129	13	9	B
Business Friendliness	101	15	11	B
Access to Capital	29	36	30	D
Cost of Living	39	12	15 (Tie)	B+
Overall	1398	18	15	-

Economic Profile

Governor: Kim Reynolds, Republican

Population: 3,145,711

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 0.7 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 2.7 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 12 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 8.98 percent

Gasoline tax: 30.50 cents/gallon

Bond rating (Moody's/S&P): Aaa, stable/AAA, stable

Major private employers: Hy-Vee Food Stores, Principal Financial Group

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

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