North Carolina ranked the best state for business in the nation: Report

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — North Carolina is the best state for business in the nation, according to a new ranking put out by CNBC Thursday morning.

The Tar Heel State scored high marks for its economy, workforce, education, and business friendliness.

“These are just great things to show us who we are, what we do. It really piques the interest of the different corporations and site selectors, people that are out there looking for great locations across the US,” said Robert McCutcheon with the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.

Governor Josh Stein told Queen City News the ranking is proof the state is open for businesses, pointing to $20 billion in new investment and 23,000 new jobs since January.

But he also acknowledged there are areas to improve. One of the state’s lowest marks was the cost of living.

“We can do more to get housing costs low. People who work in a community should be able to live in that community. And cost of housing is too much. There are things the state can do to incentivize the private sector to build more housing units,” said Governor Stein.

And as more businesses move to the state, many others in Western North Carolina are still trying to recover from Hurricane Helene. Stein said he continues to lean on Washington for much-needed assistance and is currently asking for an appropriation of $11.5 billion from Congress.

“The damages were $60 billion, that’s too much for a region. It’s even too much for a state to handle on its own,” Governor Stein added.

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