Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
Texas has been named “Best State for Business” in a poll of chief executives by Chief Executive Magazine for the 17th straight year.
“When it comes to the three criteria CEOs tell us they value most in site selection—tax policy (37 percent rank it first), regulatory climate (35 percent) and talent availability (25 percent)—Texas and Florida outclass all comers,” the magazine said.
“Texas continues to dominate as the Best State for Business because of the unmatched competitive advantages we offer: no corporate or personal income taxes, a predictable regulatory climate, and a young, growing, and skilled workforce,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a release.
“As we continue to unleash the full economic might of the Lone Star State, I look forward to welcoming even more innovative, job-creating businesses to Texas. When businesses succeed in Texas, Texans succeed.”
The failure of the state’s electric grid during the February winter storm didn’t cost Texas its top spot, but the magazine called attention to “strains” that the state’s fast growth is causing.
“So far, so right,” the magazine said. “Blackout or not, Texas outscored every other locale in the nation again this year in our annual CEO poll. But after the travails of 2020, among many business leaders—both in the state and outside—there is an emerging realism that low taxes and high confidence alone won’t cut it.
“Texas’ phenomenal growth is beginning to yield some strains,” the magazine said. “These are most apparent in Austin, where tech companies are flocking from California and elsewhere in search of capable digital workers in a fertile business climate. Among the effects have been skyrocketing real-estate costs and big new encampments of homeless.”
“A lot of native Texans have had enough,” Steve Murphy, CEO of Epicor Software, who relocated to Austin from San Mateo, Calif., three years ago, told the magazine. “The price of housing in Austin has pretty close to doubled in the last five years. The commutes have gotten bad, and when people go back to the office, they will be worse.”
After Texas and Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Indiana rounded out the top five Best States, the magazine said.The five worst – in order of bad - were California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington, the magazine said.