Tennessee drops five spots in latest CNBC rankings
The Volunteer State gets a C- in technology and innovation and a C+ on access to capital.
Tennessee placed #8 in the country in the latest rankings from CNBC of “America’s Top States for Business in 2024.”
According to a recent posting, the media site scored all 50 states on 128 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. Each category is weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point in economic development marketing materials. “That way, our study ranks the states based on the attributes they use to sell themselves,” CNBC wrote. “We developed our criteria and metrics in consultation with a diverse array of business and policy experts, and the states. Our study is not an opinion survey. We use data from a variety of sources to measure the states’ performance. Under our methodology, states can earn a maximum of 2,500 points.”
The top five states were in either the Mid-Atlantic region or the Southeast including Texas. As far as the Volunteer State, it dropped from #3 in the country in 2023 to #8 in the latest rankings. Tennessee rose the most among other states – #5 to #3 – in the economy. By comparison, it dropped the most – #5 in 2023 and #20 in 2024 – in the rankings for education.
In two important categories related to the innovation economy, Tennessee continued to decline.
- In the category of technology and innovation, the state dropped by one place in the 2024 rankings, earning a grade of C- and placing #28 among all states.
- It dropped five spots in the access to capital, now ranked #20 in the nation, but earning a C+ grade.
Those two categories account for 13 percent of the total score for each state. The most significant drivers are infrastructure, workforce, and the economy which together account for 46 percent of a state’s total score.
Virginia earned to top spot followed by North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
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