Consultants Highlight States’ Locational Advantages in Area Development 12th Annual “Top States for Doing Business” Survey

Georgia Ranks #1

Area Development, the leading site selection and facility planning publication, announces the results of its 2021 Top States for Doing Business survey. According to the results, the Top 10 States for Doing Business are Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana, Virginia, Ohio, and Florida, in that order.

Area Development asked a select group of consultants who work with a nationwide client base to name their top state choices in 13 categories that impact companies’ location and facility plans. The states were ranked based on their number of mentions in each category, and total mentions were calculated to rank the top 20 states overall.

“Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business Survey polls selected site location consultants who are responsible for their clients’ decisions that each year result in hundreds of new facility locations or expansions, billions of dollars in capex, and millions of square feet in new construction, but most importantly create thousands of new U.S. jobs,” said Publisher & President Dennis J. Shea.

For the eighth year in a row, Georgia ranks first among the states, ranking #1 for its overall cost of doing business, cooperative and responsive state government, competitive labor environment, workforce development programs, and available real estate. Texas, which landed in the #2 spot overall, ranks first for its corporate tax environment and logistics and infrastructure, and is tied with Georgia in the #1 spot for competitive labor market and available real estate.

Tennessee, which ranks #3 overall, ranks first for its site-readiness programs and energy availability and costs; South Carolina, in the #4 spot, ranks first for its favorable regulatory environment and business incentive programs. Alabama ranks first for its speed of permitting; California ranks #1 for access to capital and project funding.

A full review of this year’s Top States for Doing Business, along with commentary on the results by leading consultants to industry, is presented in the Q3 issue of Area Development magazine and posted online at http://www.areadevelopment.com/topStates.

Area Development is published quarterly and also maintains several highly visited websites, which can be reached at www.areadevelopment.com. It also has produced more than 50 Best Practices Consultants Forums for economic developers since 2006.

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