6. Minnesota

Ariana Lindquist | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A research technician prepares human cell samples for vaccine studies in the vaccine research laboratory at the Mayo Clinic medical center in Rochester, Minnesota.

Category	Score	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Grade
Workforce	253	16	16	B+
Infrastructure	255	6	10	A-
Cost of Doing Business	131	38	36	D+
Economy	180	18	6	B-
Quality of Life	252	3	3	A+
Technology & Innovation	167	5	5	A
Education	148	5	2	A-
Business Friendliness	72	28	33 (Tie)	C
Access to Capital	68	17	16	B-
Cost of Living	22	29	31	C-
Overall	1548	6	3	-

Economic Profile

Governor: Mark Dayton, Democrat

Population: 5,576,606

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 1.5 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 3.1 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 9.8 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 9.85 percent

Gasoline tax: 28.60 cents/gallon

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

Major private employers: Mayo Clinic, UnitedHealth 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

Overall Rankings 2018