For the sixth year in a row, Georgia’s business climate has been ranked number one in the nation by Site Selection magazine. Gov. Nathan Deal made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference at the State Capitol. The economic development trade magazine says Georgia is the first state to hold the ranking for six consecutive years under leadership by the same governor.
“Earning this distinction six consecutive times speaks to the immense strength of our business-friendly environment and the value of the strategic investments we’ve made across our state,” Deal said.
The governor credits public/private sector collaboration, conservative policies, tax cuts, and investments in workforce development for helping to stimulate economic growth.
“Earning this distinction six consecutive times speaks to the immense strength of our business-friendly environment and the value of the strategic investments we’ve made across our state,” Deal said.
Each November, Site Selection releases rankings for the top states in which to do business. Site Selection’s business climate rankings are based on a survey of corporate real estate executives and site consultants and an index consisting of tax burden criteria from the Tax Foundation and KPMG’s Location Matters analysis and qualifying projects resident in the Conway Projects Database, which tracks new and expanded business facility activity worldwide.
Georgia has been ranked among the top 10 states throughout the last decade and has held the top spot for the last five years.
“A six-year top business climate winning streak is highly unusual,” said Site Selection Editor-in-Chief Mark Arend. “Capital investors tell us the state delivers the fiscal soundness, logistics infrastructure, competitive business costs and workers they require today and in the future.”
Today’s announcement is the last of this kind Deal will make. He’s in his final days as governor, a fact he touched on during Monday’s press conference.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve Georgia as governor as we’ve led the nation in economic development and I look forward to Georgia retaining its position as an exceptional place to do business, work, learn, and call home for many years to come.”
Gov. Deal’s office released a list of economic development highlights during his eight years in office. The list includes roughly 750,000 new, private sector jobs created and the lowest unemployment rate (3.7%) since 2001.
This month alone, Deal and the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) have announced major new business initiatives in Cobb, Emanuel, Fulton, Hall, and Troup counties. These developments represent over $215 million of private sector investment and will create more than 2,500 new jobs.
Other economic highlights under Deal’s tenure:
- Since 2011, GDEcD has worked on more than 2,900 economic development locations and helped to bring roughly 214,000 jobs and $39.6 billion in investment to Georgia communities.
- GDEcD’s Global Commerce Division helped to bring in $5.56 billion in new investments for Georgia during the last fiscal year.
- Since 2010, overall exports from Georgia have increased by 28.8 percent.
- Since 2012, 74 percent of GDEcD location projects were outside of the metro Atlanta area.
- When state tax cuts passed earlier this year are fully implemented, Georgia’s corporate and individual income tax rates will be reduced from 6 percent to 5.5 percent. State tax reforms will also double the standard deduction for hardworking individuals and families from $3,000 to $6,000.
- As a result of federal and state tax reforms, Georgians could save up to $5 billion over the next five years. These reforms are together estimated to lead to a $4,200 increase in wage and salary income for the average household.
- The percent of Georgia’s population living below the poverty line has decreased by 2.1 percent since January 2017 and is at its lowest point since 2006.
- Monthly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Georgia recently fell to their lowest level since 1974.
- Georgia has maintained a AAA bond rating for 21 consecutive years.
- The state’s Rainy Day Fund, which was once almost empty, has now topped $2.5 billion, ranking it the highest in the Southeast and one of the top ten highest in the nation.
