39. New Jersey

The Garden State is blooming with well-educated talent. But regulation is heavy, the economy is weak, and infrastructure is poor.

Published 4:21 PM ET Wed, 24 June 2015 Updated 2:51 PM ET Mon, 13 June 2016 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2015 Rank	2014 Rank
Workforce	268	5	23
Cost of Doing Business	98	43	43
Infrastructure	99	48	47
Economy	135	40	47
Quality of Life	211	13 (Tie)	18
Technology & Innovation	149	18	15
Education	142	5	4
Business Friendliness	27	47	37
Cost of Living	9	45	44
Access to Capital	43	8 (Tie)	11
Overall	1181	39	43

Economic Profile

Governor: Chris Christie, Republican

Population: 8,938,175

GDP growth: 0.4 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2015): 6.5 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 9 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 8.97 percent

Gasoline tax: 32 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: A2/negative

Major private employer: Wakefern Food Corporation

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Jersey FY 2014 CAFR

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