By DONNA BALANCIA
Maryland was ranked No. 8 in the nation for technology and innovation in the annual CNBC study, “America’s Top States for Business,” released on Thursday, but fell to No. 31 overall among the 50 states in the U.S.
The Old Line State lost its spot at the No. 22 position from the 2023 list mainly for its tepid ratings in the cost of doing business, workforce, and infrastructure categories.
Virginia’s No. 1 ranking was its sixth time at the top of the list, with the state’s public education system and infrastructure categories pushing it to the top. North Carolina was No. 2 in the study and Texas, Georgia and Florida round out the top five states in in the 2024 CNBC report.
The CNBC study uses a range of criteria for its annual rankings. CNBC says it scored all 50 states on 128 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. Each category is weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point in economic development marketing materials. That way, CNBC says, its study ranks the states based on the attributes they use to sell themselves.
“We developed our criteria and metrics in consultation with a diverse array of business and policy experts, and the states,” the report says. “Our study is not an opinion survey. We use data from a variety of sources to measure the states’ performance. Under our methodology, states can earn a maximum of 2,500 points. The states with the most are America’s Top States for Business.”
Maryland’s other highest-scoring categories in the CNBC report were for education, where it placed 14th, and quality of life, where it scored 16th place among the 50 states.
Check out the full list of America’s Top States for Business here.
Maryland details:
Governor: Wes Moore, Democrat
Population: 6,180,253
GDP growth (Q1 2024): 0.00%
Unemployment rate (May 2024): 2.7%
Top corporate tax rate: 8.25%
Top individual income tax rate: 5.75%
Gasoline tax: 54.50 cents/gallon
Bond rating (Moody’s/S&P): Aaa, Stable/AAA, Stable
Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute (including 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody’s Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence