CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is at the bottom of CNBC’s list of the country’s best states for business with failing grades in workforce, access to capital, and technology and innovation.
CNBC released its annual rankings on Tuesday, in which West Virginia placed 47th overall. The news organization rated each state based on 10 categories, including cost of doing business, infrastructure, life, health and inclusion, economy, business friendliness, education, and cost of living. CNBC used data from federal government databases and other sources to determine scores in each category.
West Virginia placed 45th in CNBC’s 2019 ratings. The state’s highest ranking since 2007 has been 44th.
West Virginia had “F” grades in the workforce, access to capital, and technology and innovation categories. The state’s best categories were cost of living — a “B-plus” — and cost of doing business — a “B.”
Virginia, North Carolina, Utah, Texas and Tennessee earned the highest overall scores. Ohio placed 10th followed by Maryland at 12th, Pennsylvania at 23rd, and Kentucky at 41st.