Top 5 Best States for Business

States that offer low operating costs and a pro-business climate are viewed more favorably by business owners. The Development Counsellors International recently released its Best and Worst States for Business as a part of its 2011 Winning Strategies Report. In order to determine which states were most favorably perceived by respondents, those taking the survey were asked to name three states that they view as having the best business climates in the U.S. The survey is conducted every three years, and this year 322 corporate executives ranked the states.

No. 1: Texas  Texas has added a total of 732,800 private-sector jobs over the past 10 years, according to reports, making it one of the best job-creating states in the country. Texas received 49.4% of the votes from respondents.

No. 2: North Carolina The Tar Heel State is known for having low business costs for labor, energy and taxes, as well as a good business-regulation climate; it received 27.8% of the votes from respondents.

No. 3: South Carolina South Carolina has no state property taxes, and has among the lowest corporate income taxes (5%) in the Southeast. The state received 14.3% of the votes.

No. 4: Tennessee Tennessee has among the lowest state and local tax burdens in the nation, with 7.6% of income, according to the Tax Foundation. The state received 13.9% of the votes from survey respondents.  

No. 5: Florida Florida has no state personal income tax, rounding out the top five states with 13.5% of respondents’ votes.