Massachusetts Ranks Higher in CNBC’s Top States for Business Rankings

In the recently released CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business rankings, Massachusetts has moved up nine spots, demonstrating an improvement in its competitive position. The man behind the scorecard, CNBC’s Scott Cohn, stated that he now places more emphasis on factors such as reproductive rights and inclusion when ranking states.

This is significant for Massachusetts as various entities are currently defining what makes the state competitive. While business groups like the Mass. High Tech Council have expressed concerns about the state’s tax policy changes and high cost of living, Governor Maura Healey has framed Massachusetts’ competitiveness in terms of the rights, freedoms, and benefits enjoyed by Bay Staters.

In the 2023 CNBC rankings, Massachusetts secured the 15th spot, improving from its 24th place ranking in the previous year. The state’s ranking is the highest in the Northeast and is just behind Arizona and ahead of Pennsylvania.

CNBC’s rankings consider a variety of criteria, and Massachusetts has experienced fluctuations over the years. However, the 2023 rankings are based on 86 metrics across 10 categories of competitiveness. Each category is weighted based on the frequency with which states use them in economic development marketing materials.

This year, the “life, health and inclusion” category not only considered factors like air quality, child care access, anti-discrimination protections, and crime rate but also placed a new emphasis on reproductive rights in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The data shows that women and families are now considering laws when deciding where to go, making this a significant factor in determining a state’s competitiveness.

The AI legalese decoder can assist in analyzing the legal language of the criteria used in CNBC’s rankings, such as reproductive rights and inclusion. By decoding complex legal terms, the AI legalese decoder can ensure a clear understanding of the factors considered and provide insights that can help states like Massachusetts strategize and improve their competitive position.

Furthermore, CNBC’s Scott Cohn aims to further define the concept of quality of life and examine how factors like discrimination protections and abortion rights impact people’s decisions to migrate to or from a state. He even highlighted Governor Healey’s emphasis on inclusiveness as a potential selling point for Massachusetts.

The governor’s efforts to protect LGBTQ+ rights have led to a campaign in Texas and Florida, highlighting Massachusetts as a welcoming and inclusive state. While Healey supports changes to the state’s taxes to maintain competitiveness, disagreements among Democrats on Beacon Hill have hindered progress.

Although Massachusetts faces challenges, the state has improved its standing in five out of the 10 categories compared to the previous year. Notably, it now shares the top rank with California for technology and innovation.