North Carolina is America's Top State for Business in 2025, led by a strong workforce and economy

The Tar Heel State captures its third Top States crown in the last four years

It missed the top spot by just three points last year

North Carolina’s biggest strengths are in the of Economy, Workforce, and Friendliness

But federal budget cuts, tariffs and the recovery from Hurricane Helene could threaten its dominance

The Tar Heel State is on a roll

North Carolina is not only winning the CNBC rankings, it's also attracting a steady of new

More coverage of the 2025 America's Top States for See the full list of America's Top States for 2025Methodology: How we chose America's Top States for in 2025North Carolina is America's Top State for in 2025 led by economy, workforceAlaska is America's Worst State for as oil prices sinkMassachusetts is America's Most Imved State for Virginia drops in rankings, taking hit from Trump's federal job cuts"North Carolina offers the ideal combination of talent, infrastructure, and forward-thinking leadership to support our mission to reshape aviation," said Tom O'Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero, an aviation startup manufacturing fuel-efficient airliners, which announced June 12 that it will build its first factory, with 14,500 jobs, in Greensboro

Also in June, Amazon announced it would invest $10 billion to build new data centers in North Carolina, on top of the $12 billion the company says it has invested in the state since 2010. "This expansion is a testament to the state's thriving ecosystem and talented workforce," the company said in a statement June 4

CNBC's data backs up those conclusions

North Carolina finishes No. 3 in the all-important Economy category of this year's study, behind only Florida and Texas

North Carolina trade cargo container hanging against clouds backgroundIskandar Zulkarnaen | Istock | Getty ImagesThose jobs add to a well-rounded workforce — America's fourth-best, according to the CNBC study

According to Census data, North Carolina finishes third — behind Florida and Maine — in net in-migration of college-educated workers on a percentage basis

North Carolina finishes in the top tier both for science, nology, engineering and math, or STEM, employees, and for its pipeline of vocational and career-educated workers

Attracting is a goal both political parties agree onWhile no state is more politically divided than deep purple North Carolina, both parties seem to agree on the importance of keeping happy. "In recent years, we've recruited es that have created tens of thousands of jobs across the state," Gov

Josh Stein, a Democrat in his first year in office, said in his state of the state address in March. "But we cannot rest on our laurels

Other states want what we have here — it's a competitive world. "Governor Josh Stein noted in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that since January of this year, when he was sworn in, the state has announced more than $20 billion worth of investments that include 23,000 jobs

Democrat Josh Stein gestures as he speaks after winning the North Carolina governor's race, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov

Jonathan Drake | Reuters"My priority, and I think the priority of Senate Republicans, will be to continue those policies that have vided that kind of environment that has made North Carolina attractive to private sector es," state Senate President Phil Berger told The Carolina Journal in March. "Those s of things don't happen by accident

That kind of growth doesn't happen just by happenstance. "North Carolina fourth in the Friendliness category of the CNBC study

Tort liability costs are the third-lowest in the country, according to the U

Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform

The state is in the top 10 for "economic freedom," according to the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based libertarian think tank, which gave the state high marks for its apaches toward government spending and labor regulation

As North Carolina legislators battle over the state's budget and tax policy, Stein told CNBC he has no intention of raising taxes. "No one s to pay taxes, so we want taxes to be as low as possible," he said

But he also noted that the state already has the lowest corporate income tax of any that levies one, and what Stein said he does not want is to "imprudently continue to go to zero when we have all this fiscal uncertainty coming from Washington. "With the expectation of greater state spending on health care and food assistance, given the changes being made to federal support for Medicaid and SNAP gram benefits in Trump's tax and spending bill, Stein said his message to state legislators is: "Let's go slow and make sure we have the fiscal situation we need to succeed well into the future. "While North Carolina is almost unfailingly friendly to, it is not terribly friendly to workers

The state comes in at No. 29 for Quality of Life — its worst category in the CNBC study this year

Oxfam International, a left-leaning anti-poverty organization, ranks North Carolina dead last in its annual report on The Best and Worst States to Work in the U. , citing an almost complete lack of worker tections

Also, North Carolina is one of only five states with no law tecting nondisabled people from discrimination in public accommodations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures

Hurricane damages, Medicaid cuts could hurt climateNorth Carolina's biggest headwinds, however, come from areas that are much harder for a state to control

The storm, and subsequent flooding, struck in September, which means that much of the economic impact may not be reflected in this year's Top States data

North Carolina is also among the top recipients of re grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, which are now on the chopping block

People react as volunteers help to clean up outside their ing the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, Oct

Eduardo Munoz | Reutetein said that as a bigger state than most, North Carolina has a sophisticated emergency response system, but he says it is critical for the federal government to maintain its primary role in disaster management. "We don't get a huge storm every year, but the country does

It doesn't make sense for every state to have a fully staffed emergency response team," he said

The cost of disaster response is also too high for any state alone to bear, Stein said, speaking of the $60 billion in recent damages seen across in North Carolina from storms Hurricane Helene. "Only the federal government can do that," he said, noting North Carolina has an $11. 5 billion request before Congress and the administration. "I eagerly hope they fund it soon," he said

Other Trump policies could also hurt the state

Thom Tillis, who announced June 29 that he would not seek reelection after opposing the president's signature tax-and-spending bill, warned that Medicaid cuts could cost the state as much as $32 billion and cause more than 600,000 North Carolinians to lose their health insurance. "It's a real concern

This bill will result in real harm to North Carolina, harm to people and health care," Stein said. "You cannot do that and not have human suffering

We have a lot of rural hospitals and those are where uninsured people will predominantly and [those hospitals] will be the ones at risk of closing

We are very concerned," Stein added

He pointed to the bipartisan success achieved in North Carolina two years ago when the state expanded Medicaid coverage to 660,000 people. "Now we have to come together to defend Medicaid," Stein said

More than 20% of North Carolina's GDP in 2024 came from international trade in goods, according to data supplied for the CNBC study by Trade Partnership Worldwide

That leaves the state vulnerable to the impact of higher tariffs, which Stein told CNBC can already be seen in a recent reduction in traffic at the state's biggest port in Wilmington resulting from a trade policy that "changes practically on a daily basis. ""We need to have stability, es need certainty, so they can figure out how and where to invest," Stein said

But at least North Carolina steers into those headwinds from a strong position

Our methodology assigns a weight to each category based on how frequently states cite it as a selling point

The idea is to measure the states based on the criteria they use to pitch themselves to es

The Lone Star State is unparalleled when it comes to drawing in workers, according to a worker attraction index developed for CNBC by labor market data firm Lightcast

But Texas has serious Quality of Life issues, finishing No. 49 in the category

The state has the largest percentage of people without health insurance, crime is on the high side, and state laws offer few tections against discrimination

Florida climbs to third place this year, with the top rating in Economy for the third consecutive year

But the state's strong growth and its lingering insurance crisis are forcing up costs

The Sunshine State is now third-highest in Cost of Living

The Old Dominion is still a powerhouse, tops for Education, and second best for Infrastructure

But the state's interdependence on the federal government — an economic boost in most years — leaves its economy on less solid footing as federal budget cuts loom

State of Ohio flags wave in front of the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio

Aceshot | Istock | Getty ImagesOhio joins the top five states for the first time with America's top ranking in Infrastructure

The Buckeye State also offers the second-lowest cost of doing, after Oklahoma

This year's Most Imved State is Massachusetts, which climbs 18 spots to No. 20 overall, bouncing back from the biggest decline last year

The Bay State still has serious issues

It's the second-most-expensive state to do in

And cuts in federal re dollars — not just to Harvard University, but also to other institutions in the state — seriously threaten the state's heritage of innovation

But overall, Massachusetts is less dependent on Washington than most states

That is the 14th-lowest percentage among states, helping the state in the crucial Economy category

The Bottom StatesWe rank all 50 states, so if there are Top States, there must also be Bottom States

Tied at No. 46 are Louisiana and Rhode Island

The federal government funds half of state spending in Louisiana — more than any other state — leaving the state seriously vulnerable to the Trump budget cuts

The state's roads and bridges are among the worst in the country

Rhode Island is the fifth-most-expensive state to do in, and it ranks No. 46 for Friendliness

Montana finishes at No. 48 overall, with America's worst ranking in the Workforce category

Montana workers rank No. 48 for ductivity in terms of economic output per job, and state worker training grams are the least effective in terms of recipients finding employment within six months

Hawaii finishes No. 49, with America's highest cost of doing and the second-highest cost of living

The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty ImagesIn last place is Alaska

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