Is New York State Actually Terrible For Business?

There are a lot of reasons why someone would want to live and work in New York State, and there are just as many reasons why someone would want to pack up and head for another state when looking for a job or to start a business.

The Empire State is great for many things, but many people feel like this is not the place to be when you are looking to advance in your career.

We all know New York has pretty high taxes, and a lot of regulations, and often seems like it's trying to ban everything, but does that mean it's actually a bad place for business?

Is New York A Bad Place For Business?

Every year CNBC conducts a study and compares how good, or bad, each state in America is for business. In this year's survey, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are stacked against each other in a head-to-head competition in several different categories.

Those categories include different items like the quality of the workforce, infrastructure in the state, the condition of the economy, and the overall cost of doing business. In total, there were 86 metrics that were measured that fall across 10 broad categories.

What's the Worst State In The Nation For Business?

Now I know we want to think the Empire State is the worse of the worst, but believe it or not, it's not.

According to the CNBC study, Alaska ranks as the worst state in the entire country for business. The Last Frontier State ranks very low in several categories including its economy, infrastructure, and the cost of doing business. The state also achieved "F" grades in other areas like Access to Business Capital, Technology, and its Education system.

The states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Hawaii, and West Virginia round out the bottom 5 worst states for business.

What's The Best State For Business In The Country?

With Alaska taking the bottom spot, who's at the top? The Tarheel state itself, North Carolina, achieves the highest marks for business in the US according to CNBC.

NC gets A ratings in several areas including its Education system, the quality of the workforce, its overall state economy, and the amount of innovation that's happening in the state.

Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Minnesota round out the top 5 states in America.

What does it say that 4 of the top 5 states for business are in the South?

So Where Exactly Does New York Rank?

Since we know where the best and worst states are for business, where does the Empire State Fall on this list?

Well, according to CNBC, New York is right on the edge of the top 20, in 20th place.

New York ranks very well with technology and innovation, our education system, and the ability for businesses to access capital. However, that's about it as New York gets an "F" in both our cost of living and business friendliness, along with a "D+" in the cost of doing business in the state.

Having lived in New York State for a while, this isn't too surprising to me.