Connecticut and New York are among the worst states in the U.S. for business, according to Greenwich-based Chief Executive magazine”™s 2015 “Best and Worst States for Business” survey.
Connecticut ranked No. 45, according to the 11th annual survey, falling one place. New York placed 49th. The magazine dates to 1977.
Chief executives ranked Texas, Florida and North Carolina as the best.
In the survey, completed by 511 CEOs across the U.S., states were measured across three categories to achieve their ranking: taxes and regulations, quality of the workforce, and living environment, which includes considerations like quality of education, cost of living, affordable housing, social amenities and crime rates.
For 2015, the survey found Texas was the best state for business for the 11th year in row, followed by Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
Since the recession began in December 2007, 1.2 million net jobs have been created in Texas, while 700,000 net jobs were created in the other 49 states combined, the survey said. According to one CEO, “California and Oregon are essentially anti-business, whereas Texas and Tennessee do everything possible to make business comfortable and more successful.”
California ranked last in the survey, followed by New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts. CEOs gave these states the lowest ratings because of their perceived high tax rates and regulatory environments. Compared with 2014, Idaho has made the largest improvement in the CEO survey, rising 10 spots to number 18, primarily due to high growth rates in gross domestic product, while South Dakota dropped eight places in the 2015 results.
