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Missouri Ranks as 9th Most Pro-Business State

  • November 10, 2015

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The just released Pollina Corporate/AEDI Top 10 Pro-Business States Report details how well each state has or has not positioned itself to retain and create jobs. Now in its twelfth edition, the study has become an important tool for corporations to evaluate their current and future U.S. locations.

“Until 2006, Missouri did not rank among the nation’s Top 25 pro-business states. In 2010, Missouri breached the Top 10 with a 10th place position and now is in its sixth year as a member of nation’s elite pro-business states, and it gives no indication of giving up its place in the rankings any time soon,” states Brent A. Pollina, President of Park Ridge, Illinois-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc. and author of the study.

“Governor Jay Nixon has continued to show that he understands how to create an environment that fosters job creation and the tax revenue that results from strong economic development,” Pollina adds. “Credit for this success also needs to be given to organizations like the Missouri Partnership and Missouri Economic Development Council, along with other political leaders that understand what it takes to succeed in today’s marketplace.”

The state scored well across three tax categories: Corporate Tax (A), Business Inventory Tax (A), and Property Tax (A). Missouri had a good showing relative to Transportation Infrastructure (B) and Unemployment Insurance (B). And in terms of Stage II, Incentives and Economic Development Agency Factors, Missouri ranked #3.

Missouri also scored very high for Incentives (A) and Marketing/Website/Response to new and existing employers (A).

The study, considered the most comprehensive, unbiased, and unvarnished by the economic development industry, is the “Gold Standard” for evaluating and ranking states based on 32 factors controlled by state government, including taxes, human resources, education, Right-to-Work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, regulatory environment, workers compensation laws, economic incentive programs, and state economic development efforts.