North Carolina ranking as a great state for business

NC #2 State for Business

CNBC’s Top States for Business 2024 dropped North Carolina from first place last year, to 2nd place this year. It may be that NC is a victim of its own past success, with regards to availability of site-ready pads.

According to CNBC, NC rose substantially in “business-friendly” ranking compared to other states, but has dropped in ranking in infrastructure, which became the most heavily-weighted category in 2024.

The business-friendly category gauges legal and regulatory frameworks set in place by the state and what it means in terms of starting and operating, as well as liability. The category also gauges overall bureaucracy, and forward-looking policies encouraging innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence.

The drop in ranking in the Infrastructure category might have to do with NC’s past success in bringing business to the state. The Infrastructure category considers transportation activity and physical condition of roads, rail, ports, waterways, and airports. It also considers land and industrial space availability and new to 2024, site-readiness programs and the number of certified sites.

Considering the number of large wins for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) over the last several years, the inventory of available space and locations for incoming businesses has likely been reduced.

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