Ohio Becomes Top State for Business Thanks to Infrastructure and Low Costs
Ohio has beaten out 49 other states to be named the USA's top state for business in 2026, according to CNBC's annual ranking. To earn this position, the Buckeye State had to score high on 138 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness that companies consider when deciding where to locate their operations.
Other states in the top 10, by ranking, were North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Indiana.
The five lowest-ranked states were West Virginia, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Alaska and Hawaii.
Each of the categories is weighted based on how frequently states use them to attract investors. This year, infrastructure received the highest weight because companies want to know how close sites are to transport hubs, top utilities, access to fresh water and abundant energy to support advanced manufacturing and data centers.
The economy slipped to second place, followed by workforce in third.
For the first time, CNBC added another metric: ease of permitting. This aims to help companies determine how much red tape they will have to cut to get through bureaucracies.
Other categories were quality of life, cost of doing business, technology and innovation, business friendliness, access to capital, education and cost of living.
Adding scores in each category together, states can earn a maximum of 2,500 points. They may score high in one category and not so well in another. For example, Ohio ranked first in infrastructure and cost of doing business but just 23rd in education.
The top states for technology and innovation were California, New York, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania. The leaders in infrastructure were Ohio, Virginia and Illinois. Texas led in workforce, followed by Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, and Utah – with New York ranking 50th.
States with the lowest cost of doing business were Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Michigan and Missouri. Getting access to capital was easiest in California, Texas, New York and Florida.
Companies concerned about lifestyle would find quality of life best in Vermont, Maine, New Jersey, Minnesota and Connecticut. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Massachusetts topped the nation in education, followed perhaps more surprisingly by Wyoming, tied with New Jersey, as well as Connecticut and Virginia.
On the all-important matter of cost-of-living, West Virginia was the least expensive, followed by North Dakota, South Dakota, Alabama and Wyoming. The states with the highest cost of living were California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii and Rhode Island, tied with Oregon.
As for the overall winner, Ohio, which reached the highest rank for the first time, CNBC said it offered "unparalleled access at unrivaled costs," with the nation's best infrastructure and lowest business costs.
"The Buckeye State offers companies broad market access, with more than 143 million people living within a day's drive, low real estate costs, reasonable utility and insurance costs, generous incentives and shovel-ready sites."
Ohio is also in the top 10 for the number of data center sites – 224. That comes as a 10-gigawatt, $4.2 billion facility is being built near Cincinnati.
The nation's most improved state was Arkansas, which rose 13 places to 28th in the rankings. The state benefited from a 23-place jump to 13th in the workforce rankings, with 16,000 jobs added in 2025.
Newcomers were attracted by employers like Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. However, Arkansas still has a way to go. CNBC said it still ranked in the bottom half of the list overall with challenges in healthcare, education, technology and food insecurity.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM