ECONOMIST: Canary in coal mine

Canaries were historically used in coal mines to provide an early warning of dangerous gases. The CNBC rankings, where Texas continues to fall, should be viewed in a similar light.

Two years ago, I referred to Texas falling to fourth as “eerily disturbing,” a remark that received considerably more attention than I anticipated. Last year, the state dropped to fifth, and in the newest rankings fell out of the top five, trailing North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Minnesota.

CNBC evaluated 86 criteria within 10 categories, assigning weights based on factors identified as “most important to business each year.”