In July 2023, CNBC named North Carolina America’s Top State for Business for the second year in a row.  

About the Award

CNBC ranks all 50 states based on an exhaustive study of each state’s business climate and economic measures. The study looks at 86 metrics in ten categories of competitiveness. North Carolina ranked number 1 in workforce and highly for economy, technology and innovation, and access to capital.  

This is also only the second time in the ranking’s history that a state has received the top spot two years in a row. Since 2017, North Carolina has placed in the top five of state rankings four times. 

Governor Cooper joined CNBC’s Scott Cohn at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, to make the announcement.