CEOs rank Florida among best states for business

For the 12th straight year, CEOs have ranked Florida the second best state for business, according to a study by Chief Executive.

Chief Executive asked 513 CEOs to rank the states by the friendliness of their tax and regulatory regime, workforce quality and living environment, the study says. This is the 12th year the survey has been conducted, and Texas and Florida have taken the top two spots every year. North Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana round out this year's top five.

According to the study, “Florida steadily edges up in the qualitative measures. The Sunshine State added 1 million private-sector jobs over the last five years, cut taxes 50 times and got rid of 4,200 burdensome regulations.”

To gain its No. 2 ranking, Florida performed in the top half in each of the three categories. It ranked seventh nationally in taxation and regulation, ninth in living environment and 23rd in workforce quality, according to the survey results. Regionally, it placed in the top six in each of those categories.

Here are the top 10 states on the list:
1: Texas
2: Florida
3: North Carolina
4: Tennessee
5: Indiana
6: Arizona
7: South Carolina
8: Georgia
9: Nevada
10: Ohio