Maine has improved its business climate, according to the latest CNBC annual ranking of America’s top state’s for business. Maine is No. 35 in the 2012 list, up from No. 40 last year.
The report ranked states on 10 categories, including cost of doing business, work force and access to capital. Maine scored high for quality of life, No. 4 in the country, an improvement over No. 6 last year. Maine ranked No. 6 for education, which included looking at test scores and education spending. The state’s cost of doing business jumped from No. 26 last year to 19 this year, and its business friendliness rank also improved from No. 32 to 21. The state’s rank for overall economy, however, fell from 34 to 42, and access to capital also fell over the year, from 30 to 46.
In a press release announcing the results, Gov. Paul LePage said the state has improved but still has more work to do. “We have successfully reduced regulatory burdens on private sector development, implemented health insurance, welfare and pension reform and lowered taxes,” he said.
The best state for business was Texas, and the worst was Rhode Island.
| Category | 2012 rank | 2011 rank |
| Cost of doing business | 19 | 26 |
| Work force | 45 | 44 |
| Quality of life | 4 | 6 |
| Infrastructure/transportation | 42 | 48 |
| Economy | 42 | 34 |
| Education | 6 | 9 |
| Technology/innovation | 35 | 40 |
| Business friendliness | 21 | 32 |
| Access to capital | 46 | 30 |
| Cost of living | 39 | 39 |
| Overall | 35 | 40 |
Source: CNBC
