8. Massachusetts

John Tlumacki | The Boston Globe | Getty Images

MIT's robot Atlas.

Category	Score	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	312	1	6	A+
Infrastructure	168	42	41 (Tie)	D+
Cost of Doing Business	106	43	45 (Tie)	D-
Economy	206	14	14	B+
Quality of Life	209	10	10 (Tie)	B
Technology & Innovation	179	2	1	A+
Education	166	1	1	A+
Business Friendliness	93	18	20 (Tie)	B-
Access to Capital	85	7	7	A-
Cost of Living	3	48	47	F
Overall	1527	8	10	-

Economic Profile

Governor: Charlie Baker, Republican

Population: 6,859,819

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 2.4 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 3.5 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 8 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 5.10 percent

Gasoline tax: 26.54 cents/gallon

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

Major private employers: Bay State Medical Center, Thermo Fisher Scientific

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