South Carolina chosen as one of the most favorable business climates in the United States

According to a new survey of 287 senior-level American corporate executives, South Carolina, Texas and North Carolina have the most favorable business climates in the United States.

California leads the ranking of “least favorable” business climates, followed by New York and Massachusetts.

Development Counselors International, a New York-based marketing firm that specializes in economic development, conducted the 2002 survey. This is the third edition of this study; previous studies were conducted in 1996 and 1999.

When asked to name three states that have the most favorable business climate among all U.S. states, 25% named Texas, putting it in first place. North Carolina was next with 20%, followed by South Carolina (18%), Florida (18%) and Georgia (15%). The most remarkable change from 1999 is that California, which had ranked second, dropped out of the top five.

Corporate executives identified California, New York, and Massachusetts as having the “least favorable” business climates in America. California’s negative rankings increased most dramatically from 25% in the 1999 survey to 57% in 2002.

Survey respondents also were asked to rate the business climate in six U.S. regions. The South held on to its number one spot, with 70% of respondents giving it high marks. The Midwest (52%) retained its second place spot while the Plains (37%) captured third place. The Pacific experienced the largest decrease in the rating, losing 19 percentage points in 2002 vs. 1999, dropping to fifth place.