CNBC’s Top States for Business is Unveiled—RI Ranks Dismal 45th
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
CNBC’s annual ranking on the Top States for Business is out and Rhode Island comes in at the bottom end of the rankings at #45.
In 2016, Rhode Island ranked 50th. For Governor Gina Raimondo, the 2017 ranking is slightly better than 2016, but still an embarrassing ranking on the eve of the National Governors meeting in Providence.
Raimondo, who ran for Governor in part on trumpeting her business experience, but even after handling out over $100 million in incentives -- much of it to out-of-state concerns, her strategies have failed to significantly spark the economy. This is Raimondo's third year in office.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAbout the Rankings
RI ranks 50th for Infrastructure, 44th for Access to Capital, 43rd for Cost of Doing Business, and 42nd for Cost of Living.
The pending Rhode Island state budget cuts approximately $20 plus million from Raimondo's request for funding for the RI Commerce Corporation.
Much of Commerce's contracts have gone to out-of-state companies.
Rhode Island ranked 48th in 2015, 50th in 2014, and 49th in 2013.
In 2017, the state of Washington was ranked #1 by CNBC.
The ranking is based on a weighted methodology:
- Workforce and infrastructure are at the top of the list among 10 major categories and 66 metrics used by CNBC in crowning its Top State for Business 2017.
- The skills gap across the U.S. labor market is big and getting bigger.
- As President Trump talks up a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, states are talking more about the strength of their roads, rails, ports and utilities.
The ranking was developed by CNBC's Scott Cohn.
"Scott helped launch CNBC, eventually rising to Senior Correspondent. He continues to serve a special correspondent for the network. Scott also reports for NBC News, MSNBC, Public Television's Nightly Business Report, and the popular public radio program Marketplace. His work has also appeared in USA Today and on Yahoo! Finance," according to his bio.
