CNBC correspondent Scott Cohn returned to the airwaves on July 9, 2026, to unveil the runners-up in America’s Top States for Business, a franchise now marking its 20th year. After a decade of Sun Belt dominance and coastal contenders, the crown moved to the industrial Midwest, with Ohio being the No. 1 state for business in 2026.
Cohn framed the exercise the same way he has for two decades. “We put all 50 states through their paces. 138 metrics in ten categories of competitiveness,” he said. Over the study’s history, only eight states have ever finished first, making Ohio’s ascent a genuinely rare event in the ranking’s history.
The Runners-Up: Strong States With Big Trade-Offs
Cohn explained that no state excels across every dimension of business competitiveness. Each of the four runners-up offered a distinct trade-off.
North Carolina came in second place, achingly close to first place again. “North Carolina, the Tar Heel State with America’s top economy. Even though the sharply divided state has struggled to pass a budget. America’s third best workforce,” Cohn noted, adding a “shout out to North Carolina, which has been either the number one or number two state in each of the last five years.”
The catch: elevated cost of living and gaps in worker protection. The Bureau of Economic Analysis data pegs the state’s cost of living index at 94.326 with per capita personal income of $65,598, respectable but no longer a bargain.
Virginia came in third place. The state earned the second-best infrastructure and fifth-best education marks, yet federal budget cuts weighed on the commonwealth’s business case. Virginia has the highest per capita income among the five featured states at $77,277, though its cost of living is above the national average at 101.104.
Texas scored fourth place because it boasts the nation’s top workforce and second-best economy with strong access to capital. Yet the state’s quality-of-life score dragged its ranking down. “Texas finishes 49th for quality of life,” Cohn said, citing poor healthcare access, high crime, and low inclusiveness. Investors watching the Lone Star growth story should weigh that against real income of $71,877 and a tax code that ranks 7th nationally on the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Minnesota came in fifth place, with a stance nearly the opposite of Texas’s. Minnesota has America’s fourth-best quality of life and world-class infrastructure, but the tab is steep: 31st on cost of doing business. Minnesota’s overall tax competitiveness ranks 44th in the nation, among the highest-tax environments among top-ranked business states.
Why Ohio Took the No. 1 Spot
The Buckeye State’s win rests on two categories Cohn highlighted as decisive: the best infrastructure and the best cost of doing business in the country. Ohio’s location gives it prime logistics access to a majority of U.S. consumers within a day’s drive, and the state has attracted major data center investments as hyperscalers chase cheap power and industrial land.
The economics back the story. Ohio has a cost-of-living index of 92.774, well below the national benchmark, while purchasing-power-adjusted real income is $69,618, outpacing higher-nominal-income North Carolina on a real basis. The macro backdrop favors Ohio too: manufacturing value added reached $3,000.4 billion in Q1 2026, growing 1.3% after a weak 2025, and Ohio’s manufacturing base is positioned to capture that recovery.
For investors, the ranking matters because site-selection winners tend to draw capital expenditure, jobs, and multi-year commercial real estate demand. The AI buildout is a major driver of that flow, and readers looking for exposure to the electricity and infrastructure side of that trade can read our Free Report on 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom (That Aren’t Chipmakers).
What to Watch Next
Ohio’s win reflects a broader shift in how companies are choosing where to invest. Low costs, strong infrastructure, logistics access, and industrial capacity are becoming more important as businesses build factories, data centers, and supply-chain redundancy across the country.
That gives Ohio a clear advantage heading into 2027. The labor market is softening, manufacturing is recovering, and companies looking to control costs may increasingly favor states that combine affordability with physical infrastructure. For now, CNBC’s scorecard says Ohio is the state best positioned for that next wave of investment.
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