Gov. Nathan Deal announced this week that Georgia was named the No.1 most competitive state in the nation by Site Selection magazine.
“When I took office in January 2011, I made a promise to the people of Georgia that we wouldn’t stop until our state was the No. 1 place in the nation to do business,” Deal said. “We earned that designation in November for the first time ever, and now we’re adding ‘most competitive’ to our accomplishments. These rankings are not only a testament to our strong business climate, but they also speak to the commitment and support from our industry partners, communities and the people of Georgia.”
The magazine releases its top-10 competitive states each May. The ranking is based on 10 criteria, most of which are tied to new projects and expansions tracked by Site Selection’s New Plant Database.
“Remaining competitive is key to staying ahead in the global marketplace,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “With critical factors such as a qualified workforce, solid logistics infrastructure and connections in key international markets, it’s no surprise that Georgia outranks other states in this category, and our state continues to be the best choice for industry-leading companies.”  
Site Selection’s Top 10 Competitive States has given Georgia 426 points. Last year, Georgia ranked as the nation’s third-most competitive state and has been in the top 10 since 2010.  
Site Selection states that what makes a state competitive is the total number of new and expanded facilities; capital investment in new and expanded facilities; new jobs created; rank in the corporate real-estate executive portion of the 2013 Site Selection Business Climate Ranking; state tax climate as ranked by the Tax Foundation; performance in the Beacon Hill Institute’s State Competitiveness Index and the number of National Career Readiness Certificates per 1,000 residents aged 18-64, according to ACT — Workforce Development Division, administrator of the ACT Certified Work Ready Communities initiative.
Site Selection magazine delivers expansion-planning information to 49,000 executives of fast-growing firms. The senior publication in the development field, Site Selection, also is available online at siteselection.com. The publication also co-publishes e-newsletters, including The Site Selection Dispatch, Life Sciences Report, Aerospace Report, Energy Report, Site Selection International, the FDI Report, Trust Belt.com and the OnSITE Travel blog.