For 20 Years, RI’s Average Rank on CNBC's Top States for Business Has Been Embarrassing

For 20 Years, RI’s Average Rank on CNBC's Top States for Business Has Been Embarrassing

The annual report from CNBC is out on the top states for business, and Rhode Island's scores are dismal.

And, to add insult to injury the report recapped each state’s scores over the past 20 years. Rhode Island scores another bottom-dwelling rank.

As CNBC writes, "For 20 years, governors in the Top States have touted their CNBC rankings, while political opponents in the also-rans used them to try and pummel the party in power.

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And, maybe even worse were the Rhode Island individual grades for this year.

 

Let us break down all the grades:

Among the ten grades in Rhode Island this year, there were no A grades.

It scored a B- for quality of life.

No Cs.

Four D+ grades for Work Force, Technology & innovation, Business Friendliness, and Education.

Two Ds: Cost of Living and Cost of Doing Business.

And two Fs for Access to Capital and the Economy.

 

2026 Ranking

Overall, Rhode Island came in at #48 this year.

Only Arkansas and Hawaii were worse.

The top-ranked states were Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia.

And, the top-ranked New England state was Massachusetts at #15.

 

 

20 Year Average Ranking

Now the real embarrassment. Rhode Island's average ranking over the past 20 years was 48th.

And the highest rank Rhode Island achieved in 20 years was 44th