Texas Ranked #1 State for Doing Business in 2013

Once again, Texas has been ranked the top state for doing Business in. The 2013 rankings show Texas leading the top ten group of nearly all southern states.

According to AreaDevelopment.com:

1. Texas
Simply put, it’s hard to beat Texas — which maintains is number-one ranking among the surveyed consultants.

“We've worked hard to make Texas the best state in the nation to raise a family and own a business,” says Governor Rick Perry. “We’ll continue to strengthen the economic pillars that have helped us become a national example of job creation and economic strength.”

Those pillars include a pro-business environment, strong work force, and an infrastructure that allows efficient access to global markets. Texas has no personal income tax and no corporate income tax — a huge incentive for companies to locate or expand in Texas. Therefore, it is not surprising that Texas has accounted for 33 percent of the nation’s net job gains over the past decade. It also sweetens the pot with the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF), which provides funding and incentives to close deals on high-value business locations or expansions. To date TEF has invested about $500 million that has resulted in $20 billion in capital investment and more than 67,000 new jobs. Texas also offers a highly skilled, productive work force of over 12 million people with a wide range of skill sets. The unemployment rate is currently about 6.5 percent — the lowest of the 10 most-populated states. The state’s Skills Development Fund has provided more than $22 million to help companies offset the costs of employee training. From March 2012 to March 2013, Texas employment grew the fastest of the 10 largest states.

Key growth industries include energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, biotechnology and life sciences, electronics, and IT. Manufacturing and distribution are well-supported by a modern, highly integrated transportation infrastructure of rail, highway, air, deepwater ports, and several large, well-planned intermodal complexes. Texas’ central location within North America facilitates domestic and international transportation, as well as easy access to markets. This infrastructure support has helped Texas be the number-one exporting state in the U.S. for 11 years in a row, with more than $264.7 billion in exports in 2012.

read about the rest of the states in the rankings here: http://www.areadevelopment.com/Top-States-for-Doing-Business/Q3-2013/survey-results-state-analysis-888237.shtml