To be America's Top State for Business in 2026, 'speed to market' wins

To borrow a line from the movies, companies in 2026 feel the need for speed. With one eye on opportunities tied to staggering technological advances, massive investments and soaring equity markets, and the other on inflation, global unrest and rising risks, businesses are choosing to build while the building is good. "We are extremely busy, and it's been one of the busiest periods that we've experienced," said veteran site selection consultant Larry Gigerich, executive managing director of Ginovus and chairman of the Site Selectors Guild. "One of the key trends we're seeing right now is speed to market," Gigerich said. Companies are demanding things like shovel-ready sites and quick regulatory approvals, allowing them to seize the moment while they can. "I think there's some concern that we are going to have a change, that we're due for some economic change," he said. States are aggressively pitching themselves as the best places for companies to survive and thrive in these uncertain times, but which states are truly delivering? CNBC's exclusive America's Top States for Business study is back to find out. It is the 20th year for the study, which scores and ranks all 50 states across ten categories of competitiveness. Our time-tested methodology aims to hold the states to their own standards as they market themselves as great places in which to do business. …