Site Selection mag ranks Texas No. 2

Austin Business Journal - 4:49 PM CST Thursday

 

Texas is a great place to do business, second only to North Carolina.

That's the word according to Site Selection magazine's November issue, which features the 2006 list of Top Business Climates. North Carolina ranks No. 1, followed by Texas, with Ohio, Georgia and Tennessee rounding out the top five.

In 2004, Texas snagged the top spot from North Carolina. Last year, like this year, North Carolina came out on top.

The annual ranking is determined 50 percent by performance of the state in Conway Data's New Plant Database, which tracks new and expanded business facility activity, and 50 percent by a survey of corporate site seekers across the country.

The survey asked decision makers only one key question: "Based upon your experience, what are the top 10 state business climates, taking into consideration such factors as lack of red tape, financial assistance and government officials' cooperation?"

Site Selection Editor Mark Arend says this year's rankings look much like those of 2005, with Southern states garnering significant attention from corporate expansion planners. The largest moves up the chart include New York (up from 19th to 14th place) and Iowa (from 23rd to a tie for 17th).

Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan and South Carolina rounded out the top 10 states.