The Evergreen State may also be the state of greener pastures when it comes to doing business.
That’s according to the 2017 America’s Top States for Business ranking, which names Washington No. 1. The CNBC ranking takes into account a number of variables, including each state’s workforce, transportation infrastructure, education, quality of life, technology and overall economic health.
The honor was given to Washington today during a live-television reveal shot from the scenic Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, where the news organization interviewed Gov. Jay Inslee.
“Why did we top the list? Because we’re the most talented state, the most connected state and the most innovative state in the union,” Inslee said. “My top priority as governor is to continue to nurture our thriving economic climate that spurs job growth and keeps us at the top echelon for years to come. We know that a cleaner planet, happy and healthy workers and a growing economy can go hand-in-hand.”
According to CNBC, the ranking is based on 10 qualities that states “deem most important in attracting business” and draws mostly from publicly available data to analyze how each state performed in those areas. There were 2,500 points possible, and Washington received 1,621. Read more about the methodology here.
Other states that led America’s Top States for Business list were Georgia at No. 2, Minnesota at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and North Carolina at No. 5.
Read the rest of the story on the governor’s Medium page.
The full CNBC interview with Inslee is available here.