North Carolina ranks No. 2 on CNBC best-states-for-business list

Madeline Gray—North State Journal
The North Carolina state flag flies above the Old State Capitol building on Monday

RALEIGH – North Carolina has jumped one spot to No. 2 on CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Business,” its best performance in the annual ranking since it was introduced in 2007 by the business network.

The CNBC study, released on Tuesday, ranks all 50 states on more than 85 different metrics in 10 key categories.

The state’s strong economy and workforce recently helped convince Apple to locate its first East Coast corporate campus in the state’s Research Triangle area, according to CNBC.

“Despite the pandemic, companies across a diverse array of industries announced major location and expansion projects in North Carolina over the past year,” said Christopher Chung, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

Virginia took the top overall spot in this year’s CNBC ranking, with 1,587 points overall across all categories. North Carolina was a close second with 1,546 points. The remaining top five states were Utah, Texas and Tennessee.