CNBC has released their 2022 America’s Top States for Business rankings.
Virginia was named CNBC’s “Top State for Business” in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, and 2022 according to the Associated Press, but this year’s rankings left Virginia in third, a drop from the previous years of coming out on top.
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CNBC said the state rankings are based off of an annual study that measures and compares the states on more than 85 different metrics in 10 categories.
According to CNBC, this is how Virginia did in comparison to last year’s rankings:
- Workforce: 2022 - 11, 2021 - 3
- Infrastructure: 2022 - 9, 2021 - 24
- Cost of doing business: 2022 - 25, 2021 - 26
- Economy: 2022 - 20 , 2021 - 13
- Life, Health, and Inclusion: 2022 - 13, 2021 - 11
- Technology & Innovation: 2022 - 17, 2021 - 16
- Business Friendliness: 2022 - 6, 2021 - 11
- Education: 2022 - 2, 2021 - 2
- Access to Capital: 2022 - 6, 2021 - 9
- Cost of living: 2022 - 30, 2021 - 32
- Total: 2022 - 3, 2021 - 1
The data on CNBC showed that Virginia scored lower this year in “Workforce,” “Economy,” “Life, Health, and Inclusion” and “Technology and Innovation,” bringing Virginia’s overall ranking to third place.
This year, Virginia’s education system held steady – still ranking in at second-best nationwide, the ranking did not shift from last year’s report.
Overall, CNBC said that “Education” had the best ranking for the state of Virginia, with other categories trickling behind as sixth place and lower.
CNBC said that North Carolina, the first-place state, had a first-place ranking in “Economy,” followed by a second-place ranking in “Access to Capital,” both categories in which Virginia ranked in lower than sixth.
In addition to the key components considered in the study, CNBC reported more information on the economic profile, which has changed greatly since their study in 2021.
According to their website, CNBC reported these statistics on Virginia’s economic profile:
- Population: 2022 - 8,642,274, 2021 - 8,590,563
- GDP growth (Q1): 2022 - -1.7%, 2021 - 6.0%
- Unemployment rate (May): 2022 - 3.0%, 2021 - 4.5%
- Top corporate tax rate: 2022 - 6%, 2021 - 6%
- Top individual income tax rate: 2022 - 5.75%, 2021 - 5.75%
- Gasoline tax: 2022 - 34.40 cents/gallon, 2021 - 29.40 cents/gallon
- Bond rating (Moody’s/S&P): 2022 - Aaa, stable/AAA, stable, 2021 - Aaa, stable/AAA, stable
To read the entire America’s Top States for Business 2022 report, click here.