VIRGINIA BEACH — CNBC named Virginia its top state to do business last week, the sixth time the Commonwealth has held the top spot since the business network launched the study in 2007, and its third win in five years.
“When a business chooses to invest and grow in Virginia, we’re promising best-in-class talent, infrastructure, power solutions and business-friendly environment. Our administration has facilitated waves of economic investment and business expansions to reinvigorate growth and opportunity across Virginia,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
According to CNBC, the Commonwealth finished in the top half or better in each of the study’s 10 categories. The study cited Virginia’s public education system as “the best in the country” thanks to bipartisan compromise and its efforts to help link businesses with shovel-ready sites which helped it finish third in the infrastructure category.
The ranking is an accomplishment the entire Commonwealth should celebrate, said Linda Green, Board President for the Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA), the state’s professional economic development organization.
“Economic development is everyone’s business, and this award is one we all share,” Green said. “We have been saying that for years and we mean every word. Economic development is credited often to the work of professional economic developers, but attracting, retaining and growing businesses of all sizes doesn’t just happen. It comes together thanks to the commitment of entire communities — from the smallest businesses on our main streets to the trainers preparing our workforce to the elected officials helping pave the way to ensure sites are ready for development.”
“We have consistently called for investments in education and infrastructure,” Green added of VEDA’s annual public policy agenda, a roadmap the organization uses each year when working with elected officials setting policy that impacts economic development.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), the state’s economic development agency, noted that it has certified dozens of sites across the Commonwealth, promising that all utilities and infrastructure can be in place within 18 months.
“Virginia works really hard to listen to companies, and companies are telling us that they need these ready sites,” Michael Dreiling, VEDP’s Vice President of Real Estate Solutions, told CNBC.
The America’s Top States for Business study measures all 50 states across 10 categories of competitiveness. Virginia scored a total of 1,595 points in the following categories: infrastructure, workforce, economy, quality of life, cost of doing business, technology and innovation, business friendliness, education, access to capital and cost of living.
“Economic development is a team sport, and Virginia’s made giant strides in business-ready sites, workforce development, regulatory reduction, infrastructure investment and all-of-the-above power solutions. I am thrilled that our great Commonwealth has been named America’s Top State for Business,” said Youngkin.
Read more about this ranking at CNBC.com.
