R.I., Mass. score low in business-friendly ranking

NEW YORK – Rhode Island again was 45th nationwide, Massachusetts held steady at 36th and Connecticut slipped two places to 33rd in the annual Best States for Business rankings released today by Forbes magazine.
The Ocean State won a 16th-place ranking for growth prospects, based on venture-capital investments and business openings, as well as projected growth in jobs, personal income and state GDP. And it came in at No. 20 for quality of life.
But Rhode Island received lower scores for economic climate, based on the presence of large companies, the now-high state employment rate and growth in jobs, personal income and state GDP (30th); the labor force, based on education, net migration and projected population growth (35th); business costs, including labor, energy and taxes (42nd); and the regulatory environment, a category in which Forbes included not only the legal and regulatory climate, but also transportation and bond ratings and business incentives (49th).
The state and its capital city fared better in a recent global business-costs survey by KMPG. (READ MORE)
The Bay State scored highest in quality of life (No. 2), the local labor pool (No. 16) and the regulatory environment (No. 24). It got lower scores in growth prospects (40th), economic climate (45th) and business costs (46th).
Connecticut did best in quality of life (No. 3), its labor force (No. 13), its economic climate (24th) and growth prospects (29th). It ranked lower in regulatory environment (41st) and business costs (45th).
“Business costs are weighted the most – but low costs were not enough to keep Louisiana and West Virginia from being the bottom two in our ranking,” Kurt Badenhausen noted in the Forbes report. “We look at a total of 32 data points to compile rankings of the six main categories.”
The top scores nationwide went to Virginia, which was No. 1 for the third straight year, followed by Utah, Washington, North Carolina and Georgia, mid-sized states whose populations range from 2.6 million to 9.6 million. “The top five states were all closely bunched together,” Badenhausen wrote. “Georgia is the real story, moving from 15th to fifth place,” he added. “Georgia finished in the Top 10 in four of the six categories we examined. … Just two other states – Virginia and third-ranked Washington – managed this feat.”
Filling out this year’s Top 10 were Colorado, Idaho, Florida, Texas and Nebraska.
Additional information, including the full 2008 Best States for Business report, is available from Forbes magazine at www.forbes.com.