CNBC: Texas tops for business

AUSTIN - CNBC said on Tuesday that Texas has been named America’s top state for business in 2018. CNBC unveiled Texas as the top state for business during their live broadcast from Enchanted Rock, and Gov. Greg Abbott joined the program on location to discuss the announcement immediately after. 

The number one ranking was determined by CNBC following an extensive study of all 50 states based on 64 metrics in 10 categories of competitiveness.

“Texas offers a blueprint for business success,” Abbott said. “The Texas economy is the fastest growing in the nation, and more Texans are working than ever before. This is not an accident – reforming taxes, removing regulatory barriers, encouraging participation in the sharing economy, investing in our education system, and securing Texans’ freedom to aspire is our formula for success. As Governor, I will work to continue to keep Texas the best state to build a business big or small, and implement a blueprint for a new era of economic expansion.”

In this year’s ranking, CNBC highlights Texas’ impressive economic success, superior workforce and robust infrastructure investments. The study also gives Texas top scores for quality of life, cost of living and technology and innovation. Other contributing categories include access to capital, business friendliness, cost of doing business and education.

Texas leads all states in private-sector job creation — over the month, over the year and over the past 10 years. Texas has added over 346,300 private-sector jobs in the last year, and over 1.7 million in the last decade. New business formation in Texas is at a five-year high, and jobs in Texas are now on pace for the strongest growth in four years.