2025 BUSINESS CLIMATE RANKINGS: Texas Tops Business Climate Rankings Again

The eighth-largest economy in the world has the best business climate in the U.S. Texas has once again emerged as the state most likely to succeed when it comes to attracting capital investment from the private sector. That’s because from the governor’s office in Austin to economic development offices in communities large and small across the Lone Star State, those charged with marketing Texas know they have an easy sell — no corporate tax, sensible business regulations, business-dedicated courts, unbeatable logistics infrastructure and a huge labor force, among other factors. Their challenge is to keep it that way.

North Carolina finishes in second place by a mere single point, followed by Georgia. Virginia and Florida complete the top five states.

Like last year, utilities (availability, cost, reliability) is the most important location criterion for readers responding to a business climate survey earlier this year. (See the Methodology on p. 107 for the components used in the business climate ranking index.) That stands to reason as rampant data center development in metros of all sizes drains power from local and regional supplies, and the data centers themselves require more power for AI computing. (Wait till data centers dedicated to quantum computing come online.) Texas Governor Greg Abbott addresses this issue in the Q&A in this report.

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