Iowa is the 19th Best State for Business 2014

J.P. Donlon

J.P. Donlon

Gov. Terry Branstad is working on legislature that would make Iowa attractive to returning vets looking for work and education. Called Home Base Iowa, the bill will exempt taxes for the nearly 8,000 returning Iowa vets. In addition, he has a plan for creating 200,000+ new jobs over the next five years.

Previous State: Wyoming Next State: Oklahoma

No. 19 Iowa

Taxations & Regulations

Workforce Quality

Living Environment

Key Metrics
State GDP 

  • % Growth ’12-’13: 2.9
  • % Growth ’11-’12 v. Nat’l Avg. (2.5%): -0.1

Unemployment

  • Unemployment Rate Dec. 2013 %: 4.2
  • Comparison with Nat’l Rate (6.70%): -2.5

Domestic Migration

  • Domestic Net Migration 2013: 671
  • Rank: 20

State Government

  • State Debt per Capita Fiscal Year ’13 ($): 2,657
  • State & Local Gov’t Employees per 10k Residents: 611.2

State-Local Tax Burden

  • Rate (%): 9.6%
  • Compared to Nat’l Avg. (9.9%): -0.28%
Key Companies
  • Principal Financial
  • Rockwell Collins
  • Meredith Corp.
Development Trend Indicator: Positive
Enacts historic across-the-board property-tax cut though job growth lags.


Based on CEO Survey by ChiefExecutive.net

Sources:
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics
NewGeography.com
The Tax Foundation


J.P. Donlon

J.P. Donlon is Editor Emeritus of Chief Executive magazine.

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