Education, Workforce Drive CNBC ‘Top States’ Boost
Connecticut climbed four spots to number 28 in CNBC’s 2025 America’s Top States for Business study, driven by top 10 rankings for workforce, quality of life, and education.
The cable network’s latest annual competitiveness study also featured improvements in the access to capital (16th) and technology and innovation (19th) categories.
Connecticut’s education and quality of life both ranked fifth among all states, with the former dropping from fourth last year and the latter rising four spots.
The state’s workforce rank—measuring the concentration of science, technology, engineering and math workers and the prevalence of college degrees and certifications—jumped 12 spots over 2024.
However, Connecticut’s cost of doing business (44th) and cost of living (37th) both continue to erode the state’s overall economic competitiveness.
The state’s cost of living rank fell three spots from 2024 and cost of business dropped one position.
Affordability, Business Costs
The access to capital and technology and innovation categories both saw the largest improvements, with each rank rising six spots over last year’s study.
CNBC measures a state’s competitiveness across 10 weighted categories, with economy, infrastructure, and workforce accounting for almost half the overall weighting.
Connecticut’s economy rank rose one spot this year to 38th, with infrastructure falling four positions to 33rd.
The state rose four spots to 35th in the business friendliness category, which assesses a state’s legal and regulatory framework and its acceptance of new and emerging industries.
CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima was encouraged by the latest CNBC study, which marked Connecticut’s best performance since ranking 24th in 2021.
He said the 2025 study emphasized the state’s highly skilled, highly educated workforce and the efforts employers are taking to attract and retain employees.
“We have a great quality of life, we have an incredible education system, and we have one of the most productive workforces in the world,” he said.
“We’ve just got to bring down the costs of living and doing business, so we can see more growth in the state.
“With more growth comes more state revenues. With more state revenues comes more investments, and then you end up with a positive cycle of growth and opportunity.”
New England Region
Massachusetts was the highest ranked of the New England states and the most improved state in the country, rising 18 spots to 20th in the 2025 study.
That represented a stunning turnaround, given the Bay State fell from 15th to 38th in 2024 amid steep falls in its workforce, business friendliness, economy, and infrastructure rankings.
“Massachusetts was able to make that U-turn thanks to its relative independence from Washington,” the CNBC study noted.
“Federal funds comprised 30% of Massachusetts government spending last fiscal year. That made Massachusetts the 14th least dependent state on Washington.”
New Hampshire rose five spots to 36th, boosted by top 10 rankings for education and business friendliness.
Vermont ranked first again for quality of life—the state’s only top 10 score—and fell one spot to 38th overall.
Maine also fell one position to 43rd. While ranked second for quality of life, the state dropped 45 spots to 50th for infrastructure with additional major declines in business friendliness, access to capital, technology and innovation, and workforce.
CNBC ranked Rhode Island’s business climate 46th—down two spots—scoring the state in the bottom 10 for the cost of doing business, business friendliness, and economy.
New York remained relatively unchanged, falling one spot to 23rd, while New Jersey dropped five spots to 30th overall, driven by a major decline in its economy ranking.
Top, Bottom States
North Carolina was ranked the best state for business in this year’s study, moving up from second in 2024 based on top 10 scores for economy, workforce, business friendliness, education, and access to capital.
CNBC noted the state’s “solid economy, a world-class workforce, and a wealth of corporate hospitality.”
“North Carolina is not only winning the CNBC rankings, it’s also attracting a steady stream of new business,” the CNBC study explained.
Texas ranked second, following a third place finish in 2024, boosted by its top-ranked workforce and top 10 scores for economy, cost of doing business, technology and innovation, and access to capital.
Florida climbed two spots to third, with Virginia—last year’s winner—ranked fourth and Ohio matching its fifth place ranking from 2024.
Declining oil prices and lack of economic diversity largely accounted for Alaska’s fall from 48th to last place in this year’s CNBC study.
Hawaii moved up one spot to 49th, followed by Montana (2024: 46th), Rhode Island, and Louisiana (2024: 47th).
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CBIA IS FIGHTING TO MAKE CONNECTICUT A TOP STATE FOR BUSINESS, JOBS, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. A BETTER BUSINESS CLIMATE MEANS A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE.