Washington is the 36th Best State for Business 2013

Previous State: Maine Next State: Rhode Island

No. 36Washington

Taxations & Regulations

Workforce Quality

Living Environment

Based on CEO Survey by ChiefExecutive.net

Key Metrics
State GDP 
  • % Growth ’10-’11: 2.0
  • % Growth ’10-’11 v. Nat’l Avg. (1.5%): 0.5

Unemployment

  • Unemployment Rate Dec. 2012 %: 7.5
  • Comparison with Nat’l Rate (7.80%): -0.3

Domestic Migration

  • Domestic Net Migration ’10-’11: 35,166
  • Rank: 4

State Government

  • Debt per Capita Fiscal Year ’10 ($): 4,098
  • State & Local Gov’t Employees per 10k Residents: 527.3

State-Local Tax Burden

  • Rate (%): 8.7
  • Compared to Nat’l Avg. (9.9%): -1.13
Key Companies
  • Costco
  • Microsoft
  • Amazon.com
  • Starbucks
  • Weyerhauser
Development Trend Indicator: Neutral
Standoff between houses of legislature leaves financial reforms in the lurch.
CEO Comments
“So far, Washington is smart enough to recognize where its jobs come from.”

“WA charges annual business fees and has B & O tax and not business friendly as others.”

“Portland and Washington, especially SW Washington are moving into the new best place to work. Their culture and environment are extremely supportive of creative, innovative companies. They will in the next few years be the best place to work mecca. Government is actively interested in seeing this become reality as is the overall business community”

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

Previous State: #35 Maine Next State: #37 Rhode Island

J.P. Donlon

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

Share
Published by
J.P. Donlon

Recent Posts

Market Engineering Drives Market Leadership: Why Tesla Is Outpacing GM In The Age Of Narrative Advantage

Market engineering is far more than clever marketing. It’s the operating system for category ownership…

4 hours ago

Building An ‘AI First’ Accounting Powerhouse

Aprio CEO Richard Kopelman on 14 deals in a year, a $300 million AI bet…

3 days ago

U.S. Manufacturers More Optimistic In May, Despite Continued Volatility

Though volatile pressure continues to temper current business forecasts in the sector, year-ahead manufacturing confidence…

3 days ago

‘We Will Not Have Stability Again’: Takeaways From The 2026 Manufacturing Leaders Summit In St. Louis

In an era of tariffs, China, AI, margin pressure and continued economic uncertainty the best…

4 days ago

Why Your Company’s Customer Experience Isn’t Working Anymore

Once you commit to a truly customer-centric operation, the path you chart will be very…

4 days ago

The Rebuild That Took Our Family Business From Shutdown To $80 Million

After a decade, we’ve found that distributed teams outperform when the operating infrastructure is right.

4 days ago