(Atlanta) – Governor Brian Kemp today announced that Georgia has been named the “Top State for Business” by Area Development, a leading publication covering corporate site selection and relocation. This marks the sixth year in a row Georgia’s received the designation. The results are determined by the publication’s poll of site consultants.
“I am exceptionally proud that Georgia has once again been named the Top State for Business by Area Development,” said Governor Kemp. “Our efforts to cut red tape and ensure our business environment leads the nation continue to lure world-class companies to the Peach State from every corner of the map.
“The 10th Annual Best States for Doing Business rankings are drawn from our editor’s poll of leading site location, supply chain, 3PL, real estate, and corporate business consultants maintained in our proprietary consultant database,” said Area Development publisher and president Dennis J. Shea. These consultants, he added, “are actively responsible for guiding scores of corporate site location project decisions, billions of dollars in capex, millions of square feet in new construction, and most importantly, creating thousands of new jobs across all fifty states.”
South tops poll
Area Development’s 2019 Top States for Doing Business results reflect the rankings that states receive based on weighted scores in twelve categories: overall cost of doing business, corporate tax environment, business incentives programs, access to capital and project funding, competitive labor environment, shovel-ready sites program, cooperative and responsive state government, favorable general regulatory environment, speed of permitting, favorable utility rates, leading workforce development programs, and most improved economic development policies.
Along with the Top State ranking, Georgia was ranked No. 1 in cooperative and responsive state government, leading workforce development programs, competitive labor environment, and speed of permitting. The lowest Georgia was ranked in any category was third.
Rounding out the top five states on the list are Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and North Carolina.
“While the top five states are not surprising — as the South continues to dominate in corporate location — it is interesting that the top five states are all adjacent to each other geographically,” said Quest Site Solutions Director Lindsey Cannon. “This proves that the South continues to have the reputation of being business-friendly, as well as having strong economic development tools.”
Cannon said the one category where the South generally has the most room for improvement is access to capital and project funding.
“Whether it is our logistics infrastructure, workforce, or pro-business climate, there are so many factors that play into an honor like this one,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson, “and none of it would be possible without the tremendous support we have from our economic development partners in every community throughout Georgia.”
Georgia received a similar honor when it was recognized in 2018 for having the nation’s top business climate by Site Selection magazine for the sixth year in a row.