North Carolina has reclaimed the top spot on CNBC’s list of the top states for business as former No. 1 Virginia slid to fourth.
The states have traded the top two spots for the last few years. North Carolina was #1 in 2022 and 2023 before Virginia moved in 2024.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein credited the people of North Carolina in a conversation with CNBC Thursday.
“If you are a biotech or pharmaceutical company or an aerospace company, you can come here. We have the engineers and scientists to help design your product, but we also have the talented, advanced manufacturing workforce you need to produce them,” Stein said.
The accolade comes after the western part of the state was devastated by Hurricane Helene last fall. Flooded mountain towns there have spent the last nine months rebuilding.
The biggest gains in North Carolina’s rankings come in infrastructure and the cost of living.
Texas and Florida rounded out the CNBC rankings top three, with Virginia falling outside for the first time since 2018.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been fond of touting the state’s No. 1 status in the last year and Democrats wasted no time pouncing on Virginia’s slide down the list. They said federal employment cuts played a major role in the downgrade and pointed the finger at Republicans, state and federal.
“We’ve dropped from the top spot for business because Donald Trump tanked our economy and Virginia Republicans just let it happen,” Speaker of the House Don Scott said in a statement Thursday.
In a conversation with CNBC, Youngkin acknowledged the hit on employment but argued federal cuts are necessary for the nation’s financial health.
“This has to happen. We need to rein in spending and reestablish fiscal reality back into the federal government. And with that, yes, there will be job losses.”
Virginia’s ranking took the biggest hit because of rising costs of doing business in the state, which was ranked 24th in the nation last year and jumped to 31st in 2025.
Virginia also lost ground on ratings for workforce, quality of life and the general economy.
