Alabama’s business climate ranked near the top of the states in a comprehensive analysis released today by “Site Selection,” a national publication that focuses on economic development.
In the magazine’s 2020 analysis, Alabama ranked No. 7, tied with Arizona, and up two spots from the previous year. Georgia and North Carolina share the top spot, followed by Ohio, Texas and South Carolina. Ranking behind Alabama in the Top 10 were Kentucky and Tennessee.
“Our readers are keenly interested in our annual state business climate ranking, because they seek locations with the greatest prospects for success,” “Site Selection” Editor in Chief Mark Arend said.
In a survey published with the rankings, workforce skills were the most important criteria to site selectors for the fifth year in a row, with workforce development programs at No. 2.
Transportation infrastructure, ease of permitting and regulatory procedures, and state and local taxes complete the top five.
“This ranking validates the diligence and resourcefulness of Alabama’s economic development team as it strives to create meaningful opportunities for the citizens in our state through strategic job-creation efforts,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
“On another level, this ranking from Site Selection underscores the fact that Alabama remains a very attractive location for corporate decision-makers because of our pro-business policies, our dedicated workforce, and our high-performance job-training programs,” he added.
The Site Selection ranking follows a No. 6 ranking in Area Development magazine’s 2020 “Top States for Doing Business” competition, announced in September.
CONSISTENT GROWTH
Atlanta-based “Site Selection” said 50% of the overall Business Climate Ranking is based on a survey of corporate site selectors who are asked to rank the states based on their recent experience of locating facilities in them.
The other half is based on an index of seven criteria: performance in the “Site Selection” annual Prosperity Cup ranking; total Conway Projects Database-compliant facilities in 2019; total new facilities in 2019 per capita; total 2020 new projects year-to-date; total 2020 projects year-to-date per capita; and corporate and property tax data from Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Index.
Earlier this year, Alabama’s economic development successes during 2019 earned the state a pair of Top 10 rankings in the national magazine’s annual Governor’s Cups analysis.
Alabama ranked No. 6 among the states in projects per capita, a measurement that places smaller states on a more level playing field in the “Site Selection” analysis. The state’s per capita ranking in 2018 was 14th.
Alabama ranked No, 9 among all states for the number of 2019 economic development projects that met the criteria of the “Site Selection” analysis, with 150 qualified projects. In 2018, Alabama ranked No. 19.
It was the first year that Alabama ranked in the Top 10 in both categories.
Between 2012 and 2019, economic development activity brought $44 billion in new capital investment to Alabama, along with 135,000 new and future jobs, according to Commerce data.
Last year alone, new capital investment in Alabama totaled $7.1 billion, with nearly 13,500 job commitments. Read a story outlining the results.
