Texas Ranked America’s Top State for Business by CNBC

The Lone Star State secured the top spot in CNBC’s rankings after a strong year of economic growth and the addition of over 350,000 jobs

Texas claimed the No. 1 spot in CNBC’s annual Top States for Business ranking, thanks to its strong economy, infrastructure and talented workforce. Since CNBC introduced the ranking in 2007, Texas is the first state to clinch the No. 1 spot four times and has never finished outside the top five states.

In addition to claiming the No. 1 spot, Texas also received the top score in economy and infrastructure. The Lone Star State has seen nearly two years of job growth and added over 350,000 jobs in just the past year. “Put another way, 1 in 7 jobs created in the United States in the past year was created in Texas,” CNBC stated. According to government statistics, Texas workers are among America’s most productive, which greatly contributes to the state’s economic output. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas handles roughly $2 trillion worth of commodities per year. With the Port of Houston and Dallas Fort-Worth International airport playing key roles, the Lone Star State’s ability to handle this mass influx of goods makes it the best state in the nation for infrastructure.

Furthermore, Texas’ strong economy continues to attract America’s most important public and private companies, like AT&T, ExxonMobil and Dell. As the home to over 5,000 life sciences firms, including the world’s largest medical center, Texas also received top-ten recognition for technology and innovation. The Lone Star State currently has 23,701 clinical trials underway and is striving to become the home of healthcare innovation. The ranking shows that the future is bright for Texas and, as CNBC put it, “Texas is no one-trick pony.”