State ranks 49th in business competitiveness

Hawaii is again ranked next to last among American states for business.

The islands are ranked first, however, for quality of life for the fifth year in a row, according to a study released Tuesday by cable TV network CNBC. The rankings scored all 50 states on 66 measures of competitiveness, developed with input from a broad and diverse array of business and policy experts; official government sources; the CNBC Global CFO Council, a group of chief financial officers from public and private companies; the Young Presidents’ Organization, a global network of young chief executives; and the states themselves.

Hawaii’s ranking was dragged down by its last-place finishes in the cost-of-doing-business and cost-of-living categories. Hawaii has ranked last in both those categories for three years in a row.

In other areas, Hawaii ranked 48th for workforce, 40th for infrastructure, tied for 35th for economy, 45th for technology and innovation, tied for 30th for education, tied for 47th for business friendliness and tied for 41st for access to capital.

Hawaii was next to last in last year’s rankings, also.

States received points based on their rankings in each metric. Then CNBC separated those metrics into 10 broad categories, weighted based on how frequently each is used as a selling point in state economic development marketing materials.

“Our study ranks the states based on the criteria they use to sell themselves,” CNBC said.

Washington topped the list after its economy grew 3.7 percent in 2016, nearly 2-1/2 times the national rate. CNBC said Washington has the nation’s largest concentration of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workers and is also the home of Amazon, Costco, Boeing and Expedia. CNBC also noted that Washington has been a magnet for investment capital, attracting nearly $1.6 billion in venture capital last year.

Georgia and Minnesota were ranked second and third, respectively.

West Virginia finished behind Hawaii in last place.