44. Louisiana

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Jane Fontenot of Fontenot's Cajun Seafood passes out Mardi Gras beeds to customers for there support during the 75th Annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, Louisiana.

Category	Score	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	201	35	28 (Tie)	C
Infrastructure	177	38	39	C-
Cost of Doing Business	243	7	4 (Tie)	A+
Economy	123	40	49	D+
Quality of Life	82	49	49	F
Technology & Innovation	61	44	47	F
Education	55	46	48	F
Business Friendliness	46	41	40	D
Access to Capital	44	27	31	C-
Cost of Living	34	17	20	B
Overall	1066	44	44	-

Economic Profile

Governor: John Bel Edwards, Democrat

Population: 4,684,333

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 2.2 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 4.6 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 8 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 6 percent

Gasoline tax: 20.01 cents/gallon

Bond rating (Moody's/S&P): Aa3, negative/AA-, negative

Major private employers: Ochsner Health System, CenturyLink

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