Contact: Adam Bruns,
Editor in Chief, Head of Publications
(770) 325-3491
adam.bruns@siteselection.com
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Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 • USA
www.siteselection.com
Press Release
Texas Claims Top State Business Climate for 2024Site Selection also publishes U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone and Ohio River Corridor rankings, unveils new and improved website.
Atlanta, November 1, 2024: Site Selection magazine has named Texas the state with the Top Business Climate in the U.S. The state heads the list of top 25 state business climates published in the November 2024 issue of the magazine, followed by Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, in that order. The findings are based on a 14-metric index that includes a survey of corporate real estate executives and site selectors; criteria derived from corporate facility investment data in the Conway Projects Database; and a number of external sources touching on such business climate factors as taxation, infrastructure, tech employment and startup ecosystem. Ohio, Arizona, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan round out the top 10.
The most pronounced upward movers in the top 10 were Florida rising from No. 8 to No. 5; Arizona moving to No. 7 from No. 11; and Indiana rocketing up by six spots from No. 14 to No. 8. The executive survey portion of this year’s rankings found Texas No. 1, followed by North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia.
“The blend of factors making Texas and our other leading states attractive for companies large and small starts with supportive policies from the governor’s office, counties, cities and higher education institutions,” says Site Selection Editor in Chief Adam Bruns, whose cover story this year focuses on fast-growth companies of all sizes in Texas and other states. “As the companies and talent keep flowing to these states, they create a positive feedback loop backed by attention to infrastructure and workforce development.”
In the “What Matters Most” survey of site selectors published with the rankings, availability, cost and reliability of utilities vaulted to No. 1 from No. 4 last year, followed by workforce skills repeating at No. 2 and land/building prices and supply repeating at No. 3. The other factor rising the most in importance was transportation infrastructure, up from No. 9 to No. 5.
Top FTZs, Top Ohio River Corridor Metros Also Live on New & Improved Website
The November 2024 issue also ranks the top U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones and top states for FTZ economic impact using an index derived from figures in the U.S. FTZ Board’s annual report to Congress released in August. In the individual zone category, the Port of South Louisiana’s FTZ 124 in Gramercy is No. 1, followed by Spartanburg County’s FTZ 38 in South Carolina at No. 2 and the Port Arthur’s FTZ 116 in southeastern Texas at No. 3. Again this year, with five FTZs among the top 20 and ties, Texas leads the list of Top 10 States by FTZ Impact, followed by Louisiana, California, South Carolina and Tennessee, repeating the top five from the previous two years. The feature also includes coverage of international ports (many of them affiliated with special economic zones) from the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) produced by World Bank in collaboration with the Global Intelligence & Analytics division of S&P Global Market Intelligence, and global maritime centers from the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCDI) Report.
The November 2024 issue also includes our annual look at top Ohio River Corridor metros for project wins over the preceding 18 months, evaluating their capex and job creation numbers on a cumulative and per-capita basis. The multistate region of Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky-Indiana, repeated at No. 1, followed by Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana at No. 2 and Weirton-Steubenville, West Virginia-Ohio, at No. 3.
The above stories and all new and archived Site Selection stories and newsletters are appearing on a new and improved website (siteselection.com) making its debut today concurrent with the release of the November issue. Designed to be modern, user-friendly and seamless, siteselection.com today marks the beginning of a new chapter in Conway Data’s decades-long journey in data-driven business intelligence and storytelling. “We are all about making connections,” says Bruns, “whether that’s putting two and two together in a well-reported article or placing resources at our readers’ and advertisers’ disposal that enable them to put deals and opportunities together themselves.”
Site Selection magazine, the leading publication covering global corporate real estate strategy and economic development, is in its 71st year of publication, and goes to a qualified circulation of more than 41,000* corporate end users, in addition to publishing all of its material at siteselection.com. Global corporate expansion experts Conway Data Inc. — publisher of Site Selection, state economic development guides under its Custom Content Publishing Division, and the Site Selection Investor Watch, Project Bulletin and Snapshot newsletters, has been a trusted source of business intelligence to corporations, government economic development and investment promotion around the world since 1954. Conway Data also manages the Atlanta-based Industrial Asset Management Council, a professional association of corporate real estate executives, economic developers and commercial real estate service providers.
*June 2024, Alliance for Audited Media; all circulation information is publisher’s own data unless otherwise specified..
TOP 10 STATE BUSINESS CLIMATES 2024
(2023 rank in parentheses)
- Texas (1)
- Georgia (2)
- North Carolina (4)
- Virginia (3)
- Florida (8)
- Ohio (5)
- Arizona (11)
- Indiana (14)
- Illinois (6)
- Michigan (12)
The Business Climate Rankings are based on the following criteria: a survey of corporate site selectors who are asked to rank the states based on their recent experience of locating facilities in them; total qualifying projects in 2023 cumulative and per capita, Conway Data Projects Database; total projects 2024 YTD cumulative and per capita; 2024 Tax Foundation state business tax climate data; Inc. 5000 firms cumulative and per capita; performance in the Rankings that Matter in Site Selection’s State of the States report, Jan. 2024; CNBC America’s Top States for Business 2024; Cyberstates 2024 tech employment and % of overall employment (CompTIA); bipartisan infrastructure bill projects/funding as of Sept. 2024 (GSA).
EXECUTIVE SURVEY BUSINESS CLIMATE RANKINGS 2024
(2023 rank in parentheses)
1. Texas (1)
2. North Carolina
3. Tennessee (5)
4. Virginia (NA)
T5. Georgia (4)
T5. South Carolina (6)
7. Florida (3)
8. Arizona (8)
9. Alabama (7)
10. Ohio (9)
SITE SELECTORS’ TOP LOCATION CRITERIA FOR 2024
(2023 rank in parentheses)
- Utilities (availability, cost, reliability) (4)
- Workforce skills (2)
- Land/building prices and supply (3)
- Ease of permitting and regulatory procedures (1)
- Transportation Infrastructure (9)
- Workforce development (6)
- Quality of Life (5)
- State and local tax scheme (8)
- Economic Development Strategy (7)
- Higher Education Resources (NA)
Source: Site Selection survey of corporate site selectors, October 2024
Top States by Total FTZ Economic Impact
(2023 rank in parentheses)
- Texas (1)
- Louisiana (2)
- California (3)
- South Carolina (4)
- Tennessee (5)
- Florida (6)
- Indiana (7)
- North Carolina (32)
- Puerto Rico (9)
- Alabama (11)
