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For economic development professionals, knowing which states are gaining ground is the starting point for winning business investment, retaining talent, and setting strategy. States set the conditions with tax policy, workforce pipelines, and infrastructure, and companies vote with their relocation and expansion decisions.
Last year, Camoin Associates published our first data-driven ranking of state economic momentum. This year, we’ve refreshed the full ranking with the latest data on population shifts, employment trends, economic output, new business formation, tax structure, and announced capital investment activity.
The result is a clear picture of which states have sustained momentum in key growth categories over the past five years, and which are pulling ahead right now. Three states from last year’s top 10 dropped out, and three new states took their place.
The Top 10 States in 2026: What’s Driving Economic Momentum
1. Texas
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Texas holds the top spot for the second straight year on the strength of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, job creation, and business formation. Texas recorded nearly 500,000 new business applications in 2024 alone, and it continues to lead the nation in corporate headquarters relocations, with Exxon Mobil asking shareholders this year to approve moving its legal domicile to Texas after 144 years in New Jersey.
Key Assets: Energy dominance, the Dallas-Fort Worth corporate relocation magnet, and a wave of data center construction.
2025 Ranking: #1
2. Arizona
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Arizona climbed to #2 on the strength of the highest current-investment score in our model. TSMC’s Arizona buildout has grown to $165 billion, the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in US history, with the first fab already in production and more planned.
Key Assets: The semiconductor cluster, the aerospace and defense sector, and sustained population growth.
2025 Ranking: #5
3. Florida
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Florida posted some of the strongest employment and population gains in the country in our model, and the no-income-tax advantage keeps the pipeline of people and companies full. Tourism and real estate remain the anchors, with finance and aerospace climbing.
Key Assets: Miami’s financial scene, Tampa’s trade ports, and the Space Coast.
2025 Ranking: #2
4. North Carolina
What’s Fueling the Momentum: The Research Triangle and Charlotte’s financial hub keep producing jobs and innovation, and the state’s population growth ranked near the top of the country in our model. A deep STEM workforce and competitive taxes continue to close deals.
Key Assets: Biotech leadership, banking strength, and university ties.
2025 Ranking: #3
5. Tennessee
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Low taxes, a central location, and logistics strength power Tennessee’s economy, and employment growth ranked among the best in the nation in our data. Automotive manufacturing and the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain continue to expand across the state.
Key Assets: Nashville’s growth engine, no income tax, and Memphis transport hubs.
2025 Ranking: #4
6. Georgia
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Georgia climbed two spots on the strength of employment gains and business formation. Atlanta’s tech, logistics, and finance base drives the ranking, and the EV corridor anchored by Hyundai’s Metaplant near Savannah is now in production.
Key Assets: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Port of Savannah, and corporate headquarters depth.
2025 Ranking: #8
7. South Carolina
What’s Fueling the Momentum: South Carolina makes its first top-10 appearance behind the third-strongest population growth in our model and a heavy flow of capital projects. The state has landed more than $50 billion in capital investment since 2018, including AESC’s battery plant in Florence, now a $3+ billion commitment, and BMW’s $700 million battery assembly plant in Woodruff.
Key Assets: The Port of Charleston, the automotive and EV battery cluster, and Boeing’s 787 program.
2025 Ranking: #15
8. Utah
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Utah posted the highest business-formation score in our entire model. Outside rankings agree: U.S. News named Utah the best state in the nation for the third consecutive year, and ALEC has ranked it #1 for economic outlook 18 years running.
Key Assets: Silicon Slopes, a young and educated workforce, and financial services.
2025 Ranking: #6
9. Nevada
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Nevada breaks into the top 10 this year as its economy diversifies beyond tourism. The state’s workforce grew 1.9% between April 2025 and April 2026, against a 0.2% national increase, and Northern Nevada has become one of the fastest-growing data center corridors in the country, with more than 40 facilities operating or planned around Reno-Sparks.
Key Assets: The lithium and battery supply chain, logistics, and no income tax.
2025 Ranking: #13
10. Idaho
What’s Fueling the Momentum: Idaho rounds out the top 10, with business formation and population growth scores ranking among the top handful of states. Micron is building two high-volume fabs in Boise as part of a roughly $25 billion Idaho expansion, the largest private investment in state history.
Key Assets: Semiconductors, food processing, and steady in-migration of workers and firms.
2025 Ranking: #18
Who Fell Out of the Top 10, and Why It Matters
Virginia (#11), Indiana (#15), and Michigan (#28) held top-10 spots last year and lost them this year. All three were passed by faster risers in the Mountain West and Southeast, where population and business formation are compounding quickly. For economic development organizations (EDOs) in these states, the message is about pace: steady performance no longer holds a top-10 seat.
Regional Trends and How to Take Advantage of Them
Sun Belt Still Sets the Pace
Texas (#1), Arizona (#2), Florida (#3), North Carolina (#4), Tennessee (#5), and Georgia (#6) hold the entire top six.
Takeaway: The formula of tax advantage, in-migration, and infrastructure keeps working. EDOs in these states should press the advantage while managing the growing pains (housing, water, grid capacity) that could slow the run.
The Mountain West Breakout
Utah (#8), Nevada (#9), and Idaho (#10) all cracked the top 10, with Montana (#18) and Wyoming (#19) climbing behind them.
Takeaway: This is the year’s biggest story. Business formation and talent in-migration are driving these gains. EDOs across the country should treat these states as serious competitors for footloose companies and remote-work-driven talent, not as niche markets.
Southeast Second Wave
South Carolina (#7) and Alabama (#14) keep converting port access, FDI, and cluster strategies into projects.
Takeaway: Deep industry focus and logistics readiness win megaprojects. Double down on cluster development and international marketing.
The Midwest Reset
Indiana (#15), Ohio (#22), Michigan (#28), and Pennsylvania (#27) all rank lower than a year ago, yet these states hold some of the strongest announced-investment pipelines in our model.
Takeaway: The megaprojects are landing; the broad-based momentum hasn’t followed yet. Midwest EDOs should focus on converting announced capex into supplier networks, workforce pipelines, and second-order growth.
The Megaproject Movers
Louisiana (#25), Mississippi (#30), New Mexico (#23), and Missouri (#36) posted the biggest jumps in this year’s ranking, each lifted by a heavy pipeline of announced capital investment — Gulf Coast LNG and data-center megaprojects, plus chip, battery, and advanced-manufacturing plants across the interior. Arizona’s climb to #2 runs on the same fuel: the highest current-investment score in our model.
Takeaway: A single anchor project: a fab, a battery plant, an LNG terminal, or a data-center campus can now vault a state up the board. For EDOs, the play is to compete hard for the marquee investment and then publicize the commitment relentlessly; announced capital has become a competitiveness signal in its own right.
Coastal Heavyweights Under Pressure
California (#21), New York (#34), Massachusetts (#40), and Illinois (#35) sit well down the list, with California losing population outright over our measurement window.
Takeaway: For EDOs in these states, cost and housing are the fight. For everyone else, these remain the richest recruiting grounds in the country. Companies leaving high-cost markets need somewhere to go; make the case that it’s your community.
The Bottom Line for EDOs
The 2026 top 10 tells a consistent story: tax advantage, talent in-migration, and business formation compound over time, and states that combine all three are pulling away. Whether you’re in a Sun Belt leader or a Mountain West riser, the play is the same. Know your strengths, back them with data, and put them in front of the right companies.
State rankings are only the first cut. Site decisions are made at the county level, and the same momentum framework that underpins this ranking now applies to every county in the country. The full county-level momentum rankings are available through our ProspectEngage CRM platform, where clients use them to benchmark their position and sharpen their targeting.
Learn more about our prospecting and business attraction services
About the Author
Dillion Roberts is the Director of ProspectEngage® at Camoin Associates. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Technology Systems with an emphasis in Technical Management from from Utah State University and a minor in Business Management and Leadership through the Huntsman School of Business. With over 16 years of versatile expertise in project management, sales, marketing, and client account stewardship, Dillion is a seasoned professional adept at fostering economic development and driving transformative change. Drawing upon his extensive industry experience, he goes beyond the conventional, spearheading business attraction initiatives that fuel growth and innovation.
