CNBC’s annual Business ranking are in, and North Carolina wins the award for America’s Best Business State in 2023. It’s the second year in a row that the state has earned Tar Heel the top spot.
The study measures all 50 states in ten competitiveness categories, including workforce, infrastructure, health care, the cost of doing business and the cost of living.
North Carolina’s success in attracting and retaining talent across industries was a big factor in its high ranking.
“Companies that desperately need skilled workers go where the people are, and people go to North Carolina,” he said CNBC special correspondent Scott Cohn. “The state’s well-balanced economy is coping well with growth.”
North Carolina has also attracted a ton of corporate investment.
In 2023, Bosch made a $130 million investment in the state to expand its power tool manufacturing facility. Cellular Therapies Company ProKidney invested $458 million in a bioproduction facility in Greensboro.
Apple recently filed paperwork to build a $1 billion facility in Research Triangle Park. It would be the company’s first business center on the East Coast.
Researchers also pointed out that North Carolina is killing it in career education.
“You have one of the most competitive community college systems in America and in North Carolina that is tailored to the needs of their industry,” said Josh Wright, an executive vice president of the labor market analysis firm Lightcast, which partnered with CNBC on the study.
Related: Entrepreneurs are driving the most economic growth in these 10 US states, according to Shopify internal data
Struggles with healthcare and crime
But North Carolina also has its share of problems, which can be bad for business if left unaddressed.
According to FBI dataviolent crime increased in NC in 2022. The state is also at the bottom of the health care system, with little funding for public health care and many citizens without health insurance.
Increasing political unrest can also damage the reputation of the state. North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers have battled over several important issues. And this week, Rep. Tricia Cotham changed her political affiliation from Democrat to Republicanweakening Cooper’s veto power.
Other highs and lows
Virginia came in second on CNBC’s best-states-for-business list. Tennesee was third and Georgia fourth.
The worst state for business? Alaska. Alaska’s GDP fell 2.4% last year oil production plummeted to 1970s levels. Meanwhile, the state ranks third as the most expensive to do business – just behind Hawaii and Massachusetts.
