11/02/2020
“This is hardly North Carolina’s first time at the top of Site Selection’s Business Climate Ranking. It had a six-year run of first-place finishes from 2005 through 2010. And it has been a formidable competitor ever since, very nearly tying Georgia in 2019.
A program developed in recent years, largely to lure Apple to the state, is proving to be an effective business climate enhancer still, says Chris Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the state’s chief business recruitment agency.
The North Carolina General Assembly introduced the project classification to the JDIG program in 2017. Projects from companies that invest more than $1 billion and create more than 3,000 jobs can qualify for the special grant classification, which alters certain program parameters such as the length of time the grant can be active and the percentage of state tax withholdings that can be used to fund the grant.
North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Anthony Copeland says his state’s business climate success goes back decades to investments that even in the 1980s set it apart from other Southeast states. “Investments in education, infrastructure, the Research Triangle Park all set the stage for where we are today,” he says. “We’re reaping the benefits of much of that today. My job here is to continue that.””
Read more here about Site Selection’s Top State Business Climates for 2020.