Texas remains widely recognized as the top U.S. state for business climate, consistently attracting major investments and relocations. According to rankings by Business Facilities Magazine, it secured the No. 1 spot for the third year in a row in 2025, thanks to its favorable tax environment (including no personal income tax), a large and skilled workforce, infrastructure capable of supporting growth and strong appeal to corporate expansion — more than 1,300 qualified investment projects were reported for 2024. At the same time, in the annual survey by CNBC of 2025, Texas ranked No. 2 overall, with particular strength in workforce quality and innovation metrics but scored lower in quality of life categories. In short, Texas’s consistent top tier ranking signals to businesses that it remains a highly competitive environment for growth, though states also must continue improving ancillary factors such as livability and long term infrastructure to maintain that edge.
In other rankings: The Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index highlights the impact of Maryland’s aggressive 2025 tax package. The state added two new brackets on high earners, raising the top marginal individual income tax rate to 6.5 percent, increased the county income tax cap to 3.3 percent and introduced a 2 percent surtax on capital gains for high earners. Additionally, Maryland imposed a new 3 percent sales tax on data, IT, and other business-to-business services. These measures pushed Maryland down one spot overall to 46th and dropping five places on the sales tax measure (from 35th to 40th), underscoring the state’s growing tax burden relative to other states.
