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        <title>Austin Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/tags/rankings/</link>
        <description>Austin Real Estate Blog - Cantera Real Estate - This multi-author blog covers the local Austin, Texas real estate market, housing trends, new developments, new MLS listings, Austin area news, and relocation info.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texas-ranked-number-1-on-list-of-states-with-the-best-business-climate.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/texas-ranked-number-1-on-list-of-states-with-the-best-business-climate.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Texas Ranked Number 1 on List of States with the Best Business Climate</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
According to Site Selection magazine, the state of Texas currently has the best business climate in the country. In being placed in the number one spot, Texas effectively ousted North Carolina from the position, which it has held for the past 10 years.

Atlas Van Lines annual study of corporate relocations in 2010, Texas saw more than 7,200 inbound relocations compared to just 5,300 outbound relocations. In all, 58 percent of inbound corporate relocations went to Texas. Furthermore, more than 40 percent of the new jobs created in the United States since June 2009 were created in Texas.

Despite these impressive figures, Site Selection analyzed a number of different factors in order to determine its 2011 rankings. Half of the total score was based on objective, data-driven information, while the other half was based on input provided by corporate real estate executives. The executives surveyed for the study placed Texas at the top due to the states lack of red tape, the amount of cooperation that takes place between the government and businesses, workforce availability, the lack of state income tax and the financial assistance that is available. Factors taken into consideration for the objective portion of the score included the following:

&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Governors Cup ranking, which is a tally of new and expanded facilities from the previous year that is determined by Site Selection each year&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Total projects per million population&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Placement in the Competitiveness Ranking, which Site Selection determines each year.&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Qualified New Plants projects to date within the given year&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;2011 business tax climate as determined by the Tax Foundation

The states included in the top 25 list of states with the best business climate were:&nbsp;&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Texas&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Georgia&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;North Carolina&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Virginia&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;South Carolina&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Indiana&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Louisiana&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Tennessee&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Ohio&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Florida&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Pennsylvania&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Alabama&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Oklahoma&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Utah&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Michigan&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Kansas&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Mississippi&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Colorado&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Kentucky&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;California&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Illinois&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;New York&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Iowa&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Maryland&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Nevada&nbsp;If the state of Texas continues down the path that it has already started, it is likely to continue to hold onto the number one position for some time. Not only has the state seen significant economic progress in its four major metropolitan areas of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, but it is also actively putting plans in place to help foster its booming business climate.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:53:58 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-ranks-well-on-many-surveys.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/austin-ranks-well-on-many-surveys.html</link>
            <author>jim@jimolenbush.com (Jim Olenbush)</author>
            <title>Austin Ranks Well On Many Surveys</title>
            <categories>austin-news</categories>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Austin and Central Texas are at the top of many lists in terms of educational attainment, quality of life, low crime rates, economic growth potential and many other areas. Here's a look at a few of the honors that Austin and the Central Texas area have received over the past year:


Austin was ranked number one by the Milken Institute for creating jobs, with the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood MSA ranking second.

Austin was ranked #2 out of 100 metro areas for employment potential and for having the highest metropolitan growth potential (MGP) by Business Week and The Brookings Institute.

Austin was ranked #9 by CNN-Money as being one of the best places to start a business

Portfolio.com ranked Austin as #1 out of the 100 largest cities for job creation (Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth and San Antonio all ranked within the top 5 as well)

Austin and San Antonio were named the two American cities that were the most likely to bounce back to their pre-recession status by The Austin Business Journal and IHC Insight (6 of the top 20 cities listed by the report are in Texas)

Forbes listed Austin as the least stressful city to live in after comparing 40 cities based on factors such as traffic congestion, housing values and unemployment


This is only a small sampling of the lists on which Austin and Central Texas have listed over the past year. In fact, the city of Austin alone has been included on over 60 studies or publications over the last year, with the city ranking high in areas such as business climate, pollution, living affordability, population density, weather, education, cost of living, quality of life issues and employment. It's no wonder so many people are interested in calling the capital city their home!
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 09 Jan 2010 10:58:06 -0600</pubDate>
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