No. 4North Carolina
In 2013, the state passed a comprehensive, business-favoring tax-reform package that was hailed by many analysts as the best by any state in decades. But its job-growth rank dropped from 2012.
Governor: Pat McCrory (Republican)
Tax Foundation rank: 44
ALEC-Laffer Economic Outlook rank: 22
Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (2012) rank: 31
Total Nonfarm Employment Percentage Growth (2013): 17
Economic-development contact: North Carolina Department of Commerce, 919/733-4151, www.nccommerce.com; Sharon Allred Decker, Secretary of Commerce