NORTH CAROLINA — Media outlet CNBC released its 2026 “America’s Top State for Business” rankings and North Carolina has lost its first-place spot, falling to second place while also coming up short in certain categories.
The outlet’s annual study scores states based on 138 metrics in 10 broad categories. The study identifies factors companies consider when choosing to expand or open in a particular stay and in which categories states focus their economic development efforts.
The ranking also gives points to states based on the amount of efforts and improvements put into each category. CNBC noted for the first time in its 20 years of running the study, it factored ease of permitting into its rankings.
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Each category is listed in order of importance, or how much weight the market places on each subject category. Infrastructure — which includes how easy it is to get a permit to build new infrastructure — was placed as the top-weighted category, while cost-of-living came in last.
North Carolina ranked first place in business overall in 2025, but ranked second in 2026, and the state’s category rankings and points are broken down as follows:
- Infrastructure: 13th with 254 points out of 440
- Economy: First with 317 points out of 415
- Workforce: Third with 258 points out of 345
- Quality of life: 34th with 134 points out of 290
- Cost of doing business: 20th with 161 points out of 285
- Technology and innovation: Eighth with 160 points out of 245
- Business friendliness: Eighth with 158 points out of 225
- Access to capital: Fifth with 90 points out of 105
- Education: 12th with 62 points out of 100
- Cost of living: 35th with 20 points out of 50
North Carolina ranked lower this year for infrastructure by two spots, quality of life by five, cost of living by 12, education by six and business friendliness by four.
Governor Josh Stein released a statement acknowledging and celebrating the rankings the state scored highest in.
“North Carolina’s got a good thing going,” Stein said. “This is the fifth straight year that North Carolina has ranked in the Top 2 states for business. This year, we’re the #1 state for the economy, the #2 state for business, and the #3 state for workforce. I’m proud that we announced a record-breaking number of jobs in 2025, expanding opportunity to every corner of the state.”
North Carolina secured more than 33,000 jobs in 2025, according to an announcement published by the governor’s office in December. However, Stein addressed where the state could improve on the lower-ranked categories.
“My administration is working to lower the cost of housing, child care, health care, and utilities — and I have long called on the General Assembly to join me in those commitments. When a state goes more than 1,000 days without passing a budget, you can’t be surprised to see some consequences,” he said. “I am confident that the budget is a launching pad, not our landing place. … Let’s keep building our success story by investing in people and lowering the cost of living so that we can build a safer, stronger, and more prosperous North Carolina.”
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