RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - For the second time in a row, Site Selection magazine has given North Carolina the No. 1 spot in the country on its ranking of state business competitiveness. The state tied with Texas for the top honor. The 2015 ‘Prosperity Cup’ is awarded based on 10 factors of economic performance.
 
Taking third was Tennessee, then Kentucky and Georgia.

“We have a superior tax and regulatory environment, highly skilled workforce and outstanding quality of life in addition to a wide variety of economic development programs to assist business with growth opportunities," said Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla in a news release.

The criteria:

-- Total new and expanded facilities in 2015
--- Total new and expanded facilities in 2015 per 1 million population
-- Total capital investment in new and expanded facilities in 2015
-- Total capital investment in new and expanded facilities per 1 million population in 2015
-- Total new jobs created in 2015
-- Total new jobs created in 2015 per 1 million population
-- Rank in the corporate real estate executive portion of the 2015 -- Site Selection Business Climate Ranking
-- State tax climate as ranked by the Tax Foundation
-- Performance in the Beacon Hill Institute’s State -- Competitiveness Index (Business Incubator Index)
-- Number of National Career Readiness Certificates per 1,000 residents aged 18-64, according to ACT – Workforce -- Development Division, administrator of the ACT Certified Work Ready Communities initiative

The full data and commentary can be found at siteselection.com