Sunday, May 12, 2013

Here Are the Top 5 ‘Best’ & ‘Worst’ States for Business: Guess Which Ones CEOs Prefer

OFF THE WIRE

It appears CEOs prefer doing business in states run by Republican governors, or so says Chief Executive magazine’s ninth annual “The Best and Worst States for Business” survey.
The survey asked 736 CEOs to grade states on a variety of “competitive metrics that CEOs themselves regard as critical,” including taxation and regulation, quality of workforce, and living environment.
“The tax and regulatory grade includes a measure of how CEOs grade a state’s attitude toward business, a key indicator,” the report write-up notes.
“In the minds of most leaders, a state’s friendliness is closely aligned with its tax and regulatory regime. Similarly, workforce quality also measures the perceived cooperativeness of workers with management, as well as the people’s general work ethic and education attainment,” the write-up reads.
“The living environment metric measures the perceived quality of education and public health facilities, as well as the affordability and quality of real estate, the transportation system and related environmental factors,” it adds.
And although three of the top 10 worst states for business are controlled by Republican governors, the top 10 best states, as noted by the Washington Examiner’s Charlie Spiering, are all run by Republican governors.
Here are the top five best states for business:

5. Indiana

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Mike Pence. (Getty Images)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

4. Tennessee

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

3. North Carolina

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

2. Florida

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Rick Scott. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
 
Living Environment

1. Texas

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Rick Perry. (Photo courtesy the Washington Times)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment
And here are the top five worst states for business:

5. New Jersey

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Republican Gov. Chris Christie. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

4. Massachusetts

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Democrat Gov. Deval Patrick. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

3. Illinois

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

2. New York

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

1. California

Chief Executive Magazine Releases its 9th Annual The Best & Worst States for Business Survey, CEOs Prefer Republican Run States
Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown. (AP photo)
Taxations & Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment