Where Does Illinois Rank Among America’s Top States For Business

ILLINOIS — A new analysis from CNBC ranks Illinois in the U.S. states in the top half of states in the U.S. when it comes to business competitiveness.

For its America’s Top States for Business rankings released Tuesday, CNBC scored states in 86 areas across 10 broad categories of competitiveness, with a maximum possible score of 2,500 points. The categories were weighted based on how frequently the states use them to sell business opportunities in economic development marketing materials.

“That way, our study ranks the states based on the attributes they use to sell themselves,” CNBC explained of its methodology, developed in consultation with a diverse group of business and policy experts, and the states themselves.

Illinois was ranked 17th in the country which was up two spots from CNBC’s 2022 rankings. The state finished with 1,388 points in the ranking system. While the state received high marks in several categories, including infrastructure, cost of living, and education, the state's economy —graded out at a D+ by CNBC – and the cost of doing business (C-) and workforce (C) lowered Illinois' business profile.

Data sources used in the economic profiles include, which includes a letter grade:

• Workforce (28th, down up two spots from 2022) C, 209 points
• Infrastructure (2nd, up one spot from 2022), A, 258 points
• Economy (33rd, up 11 spots from 2022) D+, 165 points
• Life, Health and Inclusion (17th, up six spots from 2022), C+, 214 points
• Cost of Doing Business (32nd, down one spot from 2022) C-, 123 points
• Technology and Innovation (14th, down six spots from 2022), B, 176 points
• Business friendliness, (39th, one up from 2022), &, 71 points
• Education (2nd, up four spots from 2022), A+, 92 points
• Access to Capital (6th, up two spots from 2022) B+, 39 points
• Cost of Living (9th, 11 up from 2022), A-, 41 points

According to CNBC, the top 10 states for business are:

• North Carolina
• Virginia
• Tennessee
• Georgia
• Minnesota
• Texas
• Washington
• Florida
• Utah
• Michigan

See the full rankings via CNBC.