For the seventh year in a row, Site Selection named Louisiana to its list of top 10 best states for business in November. The publication ranked Louisiana seventh in the magazine’s “2016 Top U.S. Business Climates” report. This consecutive year in the annual Site Selection top 10 reinforces the state’s reputation as a premier location for business investment and job creation.
“Site Selection’s ranking confirms what businesses around the globe have come to appreciate how Louisiana’s highly skilled workforce, unrivaled geography and infrastructure provide the ideal climate for business growth and investment,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “We are proud to once again rank among the top 10 best states for business in the country, and we remain committed to ensuring that businesses can thrive in Louisiana.”
Site Selection bases its business climate ranking on a variety of factors. Half of the score results from a survey of corporate site selectors who are asked to rank the states based on their recent experience of locating facilities in them. The other 50 percent is based on an index that includes total new projects year-to-date, both overall and per capita; state tax burdens on new and established companies; and performance in Site Selection’s annual “Prosperity Cup” — formerly “Top Competitive States” — ranking.
Since 2012, more than $135 billion in new capital investment projects have been announced in Louisiana, with the potential for over 100,000 newly created jobs associated with these projects alone. Already, $65 billion in projects are under construction, in the engineering or permitting phases in Louisiana, with the remainder preparing for those formal project phases.
Earlier this year, Site Selection ranked Louisiana number six in its annual Governor’s Cup, which ranks states for the volume of significant economic development projects. Additionally, Southern Business & Development ranked Louisiana number one for the number of major business projects per capita, and Area Development magazine placed Louisiana number five in its “Top States for Doing Business” ranking, the sixth consecutive top 10 ranking for Louisiana in that annual report.
In August, Business Facilities ranked Louisiana in the top 10 for multiple categories in its 2016 rankings report, including best infrastructure, lowest industrial electricity rates and foreign direct investment leadership, as well as ranking LED FastStart® as the nation’s No. 1 state workforce program for the seventh year in a row.
By Joe Coussan
