With announcements totaling $19.5 billion in capital investment and 28,203 new jobs, South Carolina has been on an economic development tear the past two years, helping it climb in the rankings of an annual list of the best places in the U.S. to do business.
The Palmetto State finished No. 19 in the 2024 America’s Top States for Business list released last week by cable news network CNBC. That’s up from a No. 27 finish in 2023 — and far better than its 36th-place showing two years ago and its No. 39 ranking in 2021.
Last year’s $9.22 billion in economic development announcements, including a $2 billion Scout Motors electric vehicle plant for the Midlands and a $1 billion investment by QTS Data Centers in the Upstate, built on the record $10.27 billion in projects reported in 2022, giving Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey something to crow about during his first two full years in office.
“S.C. Commerce is incredibly proud of the sustained success South Carolina had in 2023,” said spokeswoman Alex Clark, who pointed to high scores the state received in the latest report for infrastructure and the cost of doing business.
CNBC gave South Carolina grade A scores in both categories, citing its low corporate tax rate and utility costs and the increasing value of goods shipped by air, water, roads and rail. The Port of Charleston, the country’s eighth-busiest seaport, certainly helped boost South Carolina’s standing in that grouping.
Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey speaks at the groundbreaking for electric vehicle maker Scout Motors in February. Economic development announcements totaling $19.5 billion over the past two years reflect South Carolina’s rise in an annual report of the best places to do business in the U.S.
“Two of the key cornerstones to the state’s ongoing competitiveness are infrastructure and the cost of doing business,” Clark said. “South Carolina will continue to prioritize these along with other attributes to ensure the state remains a top destination for business.”
The news wasn’t entirely glowing.
A closer look at the report card shows the state scored a D-minus for quality of life, ranking No. 39 nationally in a category that measures factors such as per-capita crime rates, environmental quality and health care.
The low score was also due to the lack of availability and affordability of childcare and the state’s restrictive abortion law, with CNBC saying surveys show “a sizable percentage of younger workers would not live in a state that bans abortion.”
The state also received C averages for its workforce quality — that is, the percentage of workers with college degrees and those with so-called STEM training — and for the total of patents, research grants and technological jobs, like those in artificial intelligence.
Cost of living also ranked middle-of-the-pack, with South Carolina’s onetime reputation as a relatively cheap place to live no longer the case. This year’s survey put special emphasis on housing affordability and insurance costs.
The Commerce Department “keeps an eye on the various rankings,” Clark said. And while the CNBC report is one gauge of how well the state’s industrial recruitment efforts are faring, Clark said it has its flaws.
“The methodology — including number of metrics, categories and weight of categories — changes from year to year,” she said. “These changes arguably make it more difficult to discern comparisons.”
Both of South Carolina’s neighboring states placed in the latest report’s top five, with North Carolina — winner the previous two years — finishing No. 2 and Georgia retaining its No. 4 spot. The Tar Heel state had top scores for workforce and business friendliness — a category that gives high marks to states with fewer legal and regulatory hurdles. The Peach State had top scores for infrastructure and education.
Virginia, last year’s runner-up, was deemed this year’s best state for business, with CNBC saying the Old Dominion has “the nation’s best education system and policies that give companies room — both literally and figuratively — to grow.”
Alabama was the most improved state, jumping 22 places in the rankings to finish at No. 20 due largely to a surge in new tech-savvy residents and several shovel-ready sites to offer businesses.
Hawaii finished last, with poor infrastructure and high costs for almost everything — including child care costs the report terms “off the charts” — offsetting that state’s reputation as a tropical island paradise.
The study measured each state on 128 different metrics, the most ever, in 10 key categories of competitiveness.
