Study: N.C. ranks No. 3 in business climate

If New York-based Development Counsellors International is right, North Carolina and the Charlotte region should feel good about their economic development prospects. The firm, which handles economic development and travel marketing for cities, regions, states and countries, recently released a study that asked more than 300 corporate executives and site selection consultants what they thought of different areas. They named their top five states for business climate as:

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Georgia and North Carolina (tie)
4. South Carolina
5. Tennessee

When the site selection consultants were asked to name "best in class" regional or community economic development groups, they said:

1. Kansas City Area Development Council
2. Charlotte Regional Partnership, Columbus 2020 (tie)
3. Greater Phoenix Economic Council
4. Greater Houston Partnership, Nashville Chamber of Commerce (tie)

It appears from the survey that, despite the state's top ranking, North Carolina's Department of Commerce has some image-polishing of its own to do. Or, more precisely, it would have if it were still in the business of recruiting jobs. As of this month, that job now falls to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the new public-private agency designed to market the state and pursue jobs more aggressively than the commerce department did. When survey participants were asked which state-level economic development agencies they found "best in class," this is what they said:

1. Georgia Department of Economic Development
2. Louisiana Economic Development, Texas Governor's Office of Economic Development (tie)
3. South Carolina Department of Commerce
4. Michigan Economic Development