(The Center Square) – Texas was once again ranked first in the U.S. for having the best business climate, the third time it’s received the recognition this year.
“Texas Corrals Enough Points to Leave Trailing States in the Dust,” Site Selection Magazine states in its newly released rankings of state business climates.
“Fresh from winning its 11th consecutive Governor’s Cup for total capital investment projects earlier this year, Texas is finishing 2023 with top billing in Site Selection’s annual ranking of state business climates,” the magazine states.
It ranks state business climates according to 10 criteria, including surveying corporate site selectors. It also evaluates qualified projects in the magazine’s Conway Projects Database and states’ attractiveness to capital investors.
“Texas has always performed well in the business climate ranking, routinely finishing in the top five,” Site Selection notes, stating Texas ranked third in 2022.
This year, Texas ranked first, followed by Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio rounding out the top five.
The magazine’s survey asked respondents to rank states according to their experience of locating projects in them. Texas ranked first in the survey, followed in this category by North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The survey also asked respondents to prioritize location factors most important to them. Top concerns were easy permitting processes, availability of needed workforce skills, land, utilities and quality of life.
The ranking was “another victory for Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Wednesday in Austin. Texas being listed “the No. 1 business climate in the United States of America,” he said, was “the first time we’ve won this award from Site Selection since 2011.
“All of this is a testament to the exceptional economic development professionals and chambers of commerce in Texas. Texas is America’s economic juggernaut, and we are now the eighth-largest economy in the entire world. We cut red tape, we have lower taxes, and we have the best workforce in the United States. Most importantly, the Texas economy is great for all Texans.”
Site Selection Magazine Editor-in-Chief Mark Arend pointed out that Texas earlier this year won Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup for total capital investment projects in 2022. Now, “Texas for the second time in 2023 is demonstrating that it has in place what businesses look for most when expanding or relocating.”
In March, Texas won the magazine’s Governor’s Cup for a record 11th consecutive year for having the most job-creating business relocations and expansions in the country.
In April, Texas was ranked the “Best State for Business” by the leading CEOs for a record-breaking 19 years in a row by Chief Executive Magazine.
In June, Business Facilities magazine named Texas as the state with the Best Business Climate in its 19th Annual Rankings Report.
In September, Texas was named the best business climate in the U.S. in Development Counsellors International’s triennial survey. Texas has frequently held the top ranking of this survey since it began in 1996.
Factors included in these rankings include the number of relocations and expansions; corporate or personal income tax climate (Texas has neither); a growing, skilled, diverse workforce; infrastructure; startup ecosystem and other factors.
