Are you ready to ditch the 9-5 job and open your own business? If you want to be successful, location could be important. Find out what states you should consider doing business in and which states you should avoid here!
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The Lone Star State makes a triumphant return as?America?s Top State for Business?its third time at the top of our rankings.
In our sixth annual study, Texas racked up an impressive 1,604 points out of a possible 2,500, with top-10 finishes in six of our 10 categories of competitiveness. Texas has never finished below second place since we began the study in 2007.
Each year, we score all 50 states on the criteria they use to sell themselves. This year?s analysis is the most comprehensive yet, using 51 metrics developed with the help of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Council on Competitiveness, as well as input from the states themselves.
This year?s categories and possible point totals are:
???? Cost of Doing Business (350)
???? Workforce (350)
???? Quality of Life (350)
???? Infrastructure & Transportation (325)
???? Economy (325)
???? Education (225)
???? Technology & Innovation (225)
???? Business Friendliness (200)
???? Access to Capital (100)
???? Cost of Living (50)
In addition to the top spot overall, Texas has the nation?s best Infrastructure, according to our study. It improved to second place for Technology and Innovation, and boasts the third lowest Cost of Living. The state?s Workforce improved to seventh best from 14th last year. Access to Capital declined a bit, but Texas still finished in the top 10 (eighth). Perhaps most impressive, the Texas economy recovered from a rare stumble last year, when it finished 14th in the category, improving to fifth this year.
Since we began ranking the states in 2007, Texas and?Virginia?have traded places each year in first and second place. But the pattern was broken in 2012.
This year?s runner up is not Virginia but?Utah, which surged from last year?s eighth-place finish. The Beehive State boasts low costs (11th lowest for Cost of Doing Business, sixth for Cost of Living), a world class Workforce (ninth place) and moves into the top 10 for Quality of Life. The state has seen an impressive influx of venture capital of late, jumping ten places to 13th for Access to Capital, and its Infrastructure improved to eighth place this year.
Top Five: Ins and Outs
Rounding out the top five winners are one perennial favorite and one newcomer. Fourth-rankedNorth Carolina?is often a contender, thanks in large part to its well-educated workforce. This year, more of those workers are available. It?s a silver lining to a jobs crisis that has disproportionately affected the Tarheel State, where unemployment is considerably higher than the national average.
Cracking ? or should we say fracking ? our top five ranking for the first time is?North Dakota, where an oil and gas boom fueled by the state?s Bakken Shale formation shows few signs of easing. Improving to fifth overall from 13th place last year, North Dakota boasts the fastest growing economy in the country. Unemployment is practically non-existent. But there are indications North Dakota?s success is more than just a flash in the oil pan.
The state moves up in Quality of Life (5) as well as Business Friendliness (4), which measures the states? legal and regulatory climates.
This year?s most improved state is?Idaho, which climbed a whopping 18 spots to finish 13th overall. Like most of the country, Idaho?s economy has returned to more solid footing. But the state?s business costs improved as well, thanks to low wages and utility costs.
The biggest decline came in?Massachusetts. A top-five finisher in 2010 and in sixth place last year, the Bay State tumbles all the way to 28th place this year. Still a top state for Education (3) and a magnet for capital (tied with California for No. 1 in Access to Capital), the Massachusetts economy nonetheless faltered, dropping to 21st from 15th.
Also in the New England state, The Cost of Doing Business rose (49/41), and Infrastructure crumbled (45/29). Even in Technology & Innovation (7/3), the state that practically invented the high-tech corridor lost ground.
This year?s bottom state for Business, for a second straight year, is?Rhode Island. The state finishes at or near the bottom for Infrastructure (50), Economy (49) and Business Friendliness (49). It?s an expensive state in which to do business (45) and to live (44). The state also plunged in workforce (46/26) rankings.
Get the entire article at?Yahoo Finance!
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Source: http://www.yolohub.com/business/top-5-states-to-do-business-in-for-2012
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