North Carolina Ranks №1 in CNBC’s 2022 ‘Top State for Business’ List

GOP-led tax reform continues to improve the state’s business climate

North Carolina earned top accolades for economy and access to capital

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina secured the top spot in CNBC’s annual “America’s Top States for Business” rankings thanks to a decade of responsible spending, lowering taxes, and supporting businesses.

It’s the first time North Carolina has earned the №1 position since CNBC began publishing the list in 2007. North Carolina has been recognized as one of the top 10 states to do business 14 out of the last 15 years. In addition to being the best state for business, CNBC also found that North Carolina has the best economy in the nation.

The CNBC study notes that “Indeed, North Carolina’s solid finances are the cornerstone of the nation’s top Economy as measured by the CNBC study. The state’s credit rating is pristine; its fiscal balance is sound. Economic growth, at 6.7% last year, and job growth at 3.6% were among the strongest in the nation, according to government statistics.”

“When Republicans won control of the General Assembly over a decade ago, we put North Carolina on a direct path toward becoming the best state in the country for business,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said. “From reforming our tax policy to creating some of the best incentives in the nation, North Carolina is a magnet for business creation and expansion.”

The rankings reflect years of business-friendly policies that resulted in businesses large and small flocking to North Carolina. Since 2013, Republicans have lowered the personal and corporate income tax rates, cut the franchise tax on businesses, brought solvency to the unemployment reserve, and taken the state’s business tax climate from one of the worst in the nation to one of the best in the Southeast.