Virginia ranks 14th in list of best and worst states for business

Published May 11, 2015 by Jessica Sabbath

Virginia ranks 14th  in this year’s Chief Executive Best & Worst States for Business.

That ranking represents a drop of three spots for the Old Dominion since last year’s list.

Chief Executive magazine has been surveying CEOs for 11 years on which states they believe foster growth through progressive business programs.
In its profile of Virginia’s business climate, Chief Executive was generally favorable.

“Virginia continues to be a pro-business state with low taxes and regulation, along with quality workers and a reasonable cost of living,” it said. “Continued expansion of the federal government results in more opportunities for businesses in Virginia.”

The magazine also noted that Virginia has low unemployment compared with the national average and continues to have positive domestic net migration, gaining nearly 30,000 residents last year — the seventh best among the states.

However, the magazine also noted that Virginia’s gross domestic product grew only 0.1 percent from 2012 to 2013, a reflection of declining federal spending, especially defense spending. That figure put the commonwealth 1.7 percentage points below the national average.

The top five states in the survey were:

1.      Texas

2.      Florida

3.      North Carolina

4.      Tennessee

5.      Georgia

The bottom five were:

    45. Michigan

   46. Massachusetts

   47. New Jersey

   48. Illinois

   49. New York

   50. California