To borrow a line from the movies, companies in 2026 feel the need for speed.
With one eye on opportunities tied to staggering technological advances, massive investments and soaring equity markets, and the other on inflation, global unrest and rising risks, businesses are choosing to build while the building is good.
“We are extremely busy, and it’s been one of the busiest periods that we’ve experienced,” said veteran site selection consultant Larry Gigerich, executive managing director of Ginovus and chairman of the Site Selectors Guild.
“One of the key trends we’re seeing right now is speed to market,” Gigerich said. Companies are demanding things like shovel-ready sites and quick regulatory approvals, allowing them to seize the moment while they can. “I think there’s some concern that we are going to have a change, that we’re due for some economic change,” he said.
States are aggressively pitching themselves as the best places for companies to survive and thrive in these uncertain times, but which states are truly delivering? CNBC’s exclusive America’s Top States for Business study is back to find out.
It is the 20th year for the study, which scores and ranks all 50 states across ten categories of competitiveness. Our time-tested methodology aims to hold the states to their own standards as they market themselves as great places in which to do business.
Governors set their sights on a top ranking
Governors and economic development officials watch the CNBC rankings closely.
A ten-year economic development strategy unveiled by Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2024 sets “Becom(ing) a Top 10 State for Business” as one of its five metrics for success, specifically referencing the CNBC rankings. The state finished 17th overall in 2025.
Last year, Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek set a similar goal in a state “prosperity roadmap,” hoping to improve on the state’s No. 39 CNBC ranking in 2025. The document also calls on the state to improve on its 23rd place Workforce ranking and move into the top ten.
In March, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine highlighted the state’s 2025 ranking — its best yet — during an annual state of the state address.
“Last year, CNBC named Ohio as one of the top five states in the nation for business,” he said to applause, “and No. 1 in the Midwest.”
Raising the bar in 2026
In 2026, our Top States study puts the states to their toughest test yet. This year’s scoring system includes 138 metrics, the most yet, across the ten categories.
Specifically addressing companies’ demand for speed to market, this year’s study factors in permitting times and regulatory headwinds — or the lack of them.
“Capital follows the certainty and knowledge that there’s not going to be excess red tape and pain in the decision matrix around where do I put my money,” said Stuart Lacey, founder and CEO of Labrynth, a San Francisco-based AI company that created a Red Tape Index to measure the states and provided some of the data for this year’s CNBC study.
The study also looks more closely than ever at infrastructure, including the ever-increasing demands for affordable and reliable power, and an ample water supply.
Economic growth and stability, a major focus in our 2025 study with the second Trump administration just starting to put its policies into place, remains a major factor in 2026 — now with more than a year’s worth of hard data on how states are handling things like tariffs and federal budget cuts.
Also critical: the growth and quality of each state’s workforce.
“There is still an availability and a quality mismatch,” Gigerich said, “and the market has not caught up there yet.”
Also measured are Cost of Doing Business and Cost of Living as inflation persists. We gauge Quality of Life as states try to attract skilled workers.
“Investing in quality of place is the top thing you can do for talent attraction and retention,” Gigrerich said.
The study also measures Technology and Innovation, and Business Friendliness, particularly relating to emerging industries like artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and prediction markets.
And the rankings consider Education and Access to Capital.
Watch this CNBC.com section and CNBC TV over the coming weeks as we explore what it takes for a state to be competitive today. CNBC reveals America’s Top States for Business in 2026 on July 15. You will be able to see where your state ranks overall, and in each of our 10 categories of competitiveness.
Be sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #TopStates.
