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The Best States For Business
forbes.com — Topping out the list are Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina. Bringing up the rear are Mississippi, West Virginia, and 50th-ranked Louisiana. There is a slide-show that will show you the 50 states and their rankings.
hemphill81- 387 diggs
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- slapshot24, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Is it any wonder that California is considered more hostile to business than neighboring Nevada? Proof that state-level anti-business initiatives hurt the economy by driving away good jobs. How?
1 - CEOs read Forbes.
2 - Forbes says that California has an anti-business regulatory environment (it's true -- there are too many laws for a small business to even be aware of, ranging from regulating how many snake-feed rats there can be in a cage at a pet store to city-specific minimum wage laws)
3 - CEOs take their business to Nevada
4 - Sales, income, and business taxes go down in California
5 - California has another loan crisis when the state can't support its massive social services
6 - ???
3 - C- skatastrophy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Point 6 and the second point 3 were quite profound :)
- KingAdrock, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16if point 7 was Profit! I would have given you a digg
- treed, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4As a CFO for a corporation here in California, I can attest. (Un)fortunately, our business works quite well where it is because no one else is doing it in this area.
- scoot87, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I think I know why Louisiana was ranked 50...
- rSm00th, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5CEO's in California don't need to open up Forbes to know that the business climate here is just rubbish. The Governor has done a done a decent job of cleaning things up from the Davis era and Garamendi has made good on his promise to reduce workers comp rates, but the legislature continues to pass dozens of business unfriendly laws each and every year. It's a good thing that California has so much else going for it or else we'd be even further down that list!
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You mean, The Governator?
- lamestory, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1morons: there are only 2 states in the US that matter in business.
NEW YORK
CALIFORNIA
the rest of do what those 2 tell you to and hold nearly all of the billionaires.
Go back to work now making the execs in those 2 states rich.
Back to work!
- josegutz, on 10/12/2007, -16/+6SWeeeeet! Texas is #2 on the list...
Diggity Digg!- montiff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2hell ya brotha
- MOJIRA, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3You know, I can never hear 'brotha' now without thinking of Desmond from LOST.
- HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Texas also has no state income tax working for it. So not only do we have a fairly low cost of living, but you actually get a higher percentage of your paycheck. It's nice.
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It all gets balanced out in the long run though. There's no state income tax, but wages are lower as well when compared to somewhere with an income tax. Most of the time, anyway.
The 8.25% sales tax doesn't really help either. For example, Delaware has a lot of income tax, but 0% sales tax and a higher average salary. It all comes pretty close to even in the end, except for crazy places like NY/NJ and California. - Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Except your property taxes (for working-class owned properties, that is) are high, your local sales tax is high, and your utility and insurance rates ("regulated" by the state) are high.
- daldredge, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Texas also has very high property taxes and multiple new business taxes that are coming online soon.
Don't forget the plans to make damn near every new major road in Texas a toll road. - daldredge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@Urusai
I live in one of the 'non-competive' areas of Texas that hasn't had the 'benifit' of 'deregulation' yet and we pay one of the less expensive rates in the entire state. And AEP even has found the money to upgrade and add new capacity. Hell they even have crews out doing scheduled tree trimmings all the time. - josegutz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@ hobomaster
Yeah, that is very nice here in Texas....But we end up paying more in property and sales taxes... - DrunkenPirate34, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Whats the minimum wage in Texas? Here in the bay area its $6.75/hr.
- montiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Texas minimum is/was 5.50 last time i had a minimum wage job in 2002.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My state (Washington state) has the highest minimum wage (which is probably bad news for businesses) - $7.63/hour
and there's no income tax. - lamestory, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0low cost of living = *****
- armbar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It all gets balanced out in the long run though. There's no state income tax, but wages are lower as well when compared to somewhere with an income tax. Most of the time, anyway.
- Joseppi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I can't stand the Forbes site -- totally intrusive with Advertising crap and forces click after click after click -- I'm going to pay more attention to the links and avoid Forbe$
- 4degrees, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2forcing people to do things they would not normally do... Ahh business.
"c'mon folks this is a business! And we are in the business of doing business!"
-Brewster's millions
- 4degrees, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2forcing people to do things they would not normally do... Ahh business.
- ase111, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I live in NY. we're number 35...
I thought we'd be a bit higher... I know it's expensive here, but still. Business capital.
Well, our quality of life rating is high: 24. Amen to that.- scoot87, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I am pretty sure 24 means ur 24th out of 50 states in quality of life
- mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7besides NYC the rest of the state is going to hell economically... come check out Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and all the small towns in between... its becoming a giant ***** hole...
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1>> I am pretty sure 24 means ur 24th out of 50 states in quality of life
I guess that explains why Florida is so far down the list :( - joe0891, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, upstate is screwed by Albany's regulation designed for downstate (ex, tons of toll booths on commuter roads in Buffalo, to pay for toll-free highways downstate). The taxes, permits, money-grubbing, and huge pensions for public workers all create a huge burden on struggling cities like Rochester and Buffalo, making it extremely hard to get any new investment. Of course, corrupt state legislators, incumbent forever, don't help with all the lobbying they get. Sometimes I wish that NYS would purge all government workers and start over.
- whitecricket, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I'm guessing New Jersey isn't very high up on that list, I got to #12 with my ***** DSL and gave up.
- Skalizar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Had to click around to find it, but there's a chart that should have been linked in the first paragraph.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/9/06beststates_The-Best-States-For-Business_Rank.html
- Skalizar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Had to click around to find it, but there's a chart that should have been linked in the first paragraph.
- BlindIrishman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Michigan is #45 : (
- newevilmind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3that's probably why there are hardly any new companies starting up here.
- daldredge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It doesn't appear that Forbes takes into account all the new business taxes that Texas passed this year.
You know the taxes we had to increse because we only had a 1 - 2 Billion dollar surplus. - e6matt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1The Worst States In Which To Work list happens to be the reverse of this one.
- hodyoaten, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I was about to say the same thing, however I see that Louisiana and Mississippi are pegged as bad states for business. I would have thought they'd be a CEO's wet dream, what with low cost of living, poor education, and "right to work".
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4>> poor education
A poorly educated workforce is no asset to any company that requires work beyond purely physical labor. No one would willingly set up shop in those states unless there was a niche to be filled or a need for unskilled labor and large tracts of cheap land.
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sometimes it depends on the nature of your business. California, for instance, coddles agriculture, while discouraging industrial concerns.
- Ashex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yay! Washington is in the top.....12?
It appears as though Washington has plummeted ever since Boeing ditched us :/- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, I was actually expecting it to be higher.. but for some reason the 'quality of life' is ranked very low. Not sure why..
And Boeing hasn't really left us, only their HQ did. I think Boeing is still the largest employer in the state.. - Ashex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sort of. Boeing is still sticking around, however they are slowly and quietly shutting down a lot of factories and buildings. I was part of an inventory project of Boeing about a month ago, and went through all their buildings (doing inventory), they've downsized quite a bit, lots of buildings are being torn down, and there are quite a few ghost buildings.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, I was actually expecting it to be higher.. but for some reason the 'quality of life' is ranked very low. Not sure why..
- hodyoaten, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0delete
- TimDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm suprised MD is not lower
- helix400, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Woohoo, Utah ranked #4!
Though I love the picture they used for us. They had a stock photo of an empty desert with a redneck looking sign being held up by 2 by 4's. http://images.forbes.com/media/lists/9/2006/090004.jpg
Everyone else gets big cities or nice looking monuments. We get a big, empty desert with a gimpy sign. Gotta love stock photos.- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, I thought that was hilarious but I've never been to Utah..
- spyderman4g63, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Of course WV is in the bottom. The funny part is they changed are slogan from "Wild, Wonderful" to "Open for Business"
- spyderman4g63, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Oh well, back to my Wootathon. I mean WORK.
- HenryFatass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+61 - Virginia
2 - Texas
3 - North Carolina
4 - Utah
5 - Colorado
6 - Idaho
7 - Nebraska
8 - Delaware
9 - Florida
10 - Georgia
11 - Maryland
12 - Washington
13 - North Dakota
14 - Minnesota
15 - Arizona
16 - New Jersey
17 - South Dakota
18 - New Hampshire
19 - Oklahoma
20 - Tennesee
21 - Kansas
22 - Missouri
23 - Wyoming
24 - Arkansas
25 - Iowa
26 - Nevada
27 - South Carolina
28 - Connecticut
29 - New Mexico
30 - Vermont
31 - Oregon
32 - Indiana
33 - Kentucky
34 - Ohio
35 - New York
36 - California
37 - Massachusetts
38 - Montana
39 - Wisconsin
40 - Alabama
41 - Pennsylvania
42 - Hawaii
43 - Rhode Island
44 - Illinios
45 - Michigan
46 - Maine
47 - Alaska
48 - Mississippi
49 - West Virginia
50 - Louisiana- vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA" - CDefense7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3surprising that illinois is number #44 - at least we made the top 50.
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"at least we made the top 50."
I'm just going to assume you were joking.. - CDefense7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"I'm just going to assume you were joking.."
yes and i apologize for it not being that funny but i couldn't resist
- vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
- vivsriaus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Minnesot-aah at 14...I expected it to be lower. :-) I'm now a even more proud Minnesotan!
- jaredvolkl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hello to a fellow Minnesotan! I actually expected MN to be higher. Think about how many large corporations have their HQ located in MN.
- dcantu19, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It can't be a coincedence that BearingPoint's main business operations are in Virginia, Texas, and Colorado.. 3 of the top 5 states.
- Wolfman~K, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2HORAY FOR THE CORRUPT NYS GOVERNMENT!!! I'm suprised you managed to score a 35 out of 50!!! NYC is the only thoing saving you and thats because the City Government ignores the State Government.
- tmessing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4North Carolina is #3 because we bribe companies to come here. Here you go Dell, here's a nice plot of land and don't worry, you won't have to pay any state taxes.
- Bobcat7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Hell we do that in Alabama and we only made it up to # 40.
"Alabama state slogan, Thank God for Mississippi, without them we'd be last in everything"
- Bobcat7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Hell we do that in Alabama and we only made it up to # 40.
- endgame, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I'm leaving California & moving to NC....California SUCKS! It is way to crowded and is quickly becoming a third world country.....if you know what I mean.
- broh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1why dont you say what you're implying
- JamesK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Endgame,
how soon can you leave? I need a parking spot.
- festmonkey716, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1not fair to louisiana.. katrina wipped out 85% of it's biggest city's economoy
- djironx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I Live in Northern Virginia and I'm not surprised we are number one. Anyone who lives in the DC metropolitan area knows the economy is produced by the Government, meaning without the Government their would be no economy here, well at least not as large. Most Government branches and agencies are based in the DC area, with a good portion of government jobs being in NVA. The Military is also huge in Virgina as well, I'm not sure exactly how many Military installations are in Virginia, but i know its a lot, Probably more then 10. On top of the government Jobs, The corporation's that are in some way connected to the government are located here as well. Then you have all the Company's not related to the Government at all.
- jonathono2000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm glad to see Minnesota's quality of life was second only to New Hampshire.
Lucky me. - TheRealPod, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1West Virginia was unfairly biased against based solely on economics. Quality of life and growth potential are also mis-represented. Obviously all that the state represents is a road sign for people from the north going south. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/9/06beststates_West-Virginia_090049.html
None of the beautiful country is shown. It's paradise for businesses that no longer need to operate in a big city, but can do everything online such as the new NASA IV&V center in Fairmont, WV. - Prog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's weird. I live in Louisiana and my brother owns 2 businesses and co-owns another. I don't think we really deserve #50.
- truck87bp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Governor Granholm of Michigan should be proud of this...#45....looser
- doctorcaligari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have lived in NC for all my life, and in the past 10 years, we have been blowing up. Some places have grown so fast (suburban Raleigh, for example) that it has been nearly impossible for infrastructure to keep up.
Most of the growth has been in the middle part of the state, with pockets of growth in the mountains and the coast. I'm hoping more of that action will come to the eastern part of the state sometime soon. - ellenweber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1New York is not a good state for business and it takes all kind of courage to stay here with high taxes and lots of politcal rankor. Good thing the people are great and many are holding out hope for a better business future in upstate New York. the wineries are great in this region too:-) But business support is nil for the most part.
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