List Of Best States For Business: Here's Where Wisconsin Places

MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker often touts the slogan "Wisconsin is Open for Business." During a recent campaign stop, GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump said Wisconsin is "middle of the pack" and "nothing special."

Which one is right?

According to Chief Executive Magazine's 12th annual poll surveying the nation's most business-friendly areas of the U.S., Wisconsin comes in 11th out of 50 states overall. That's one place up from last year's survey.

In their survey, more than 500 CEOs were asked to consider three criteria: Taxes and Regulations, Workforce Quality and Living Environment. In most companies, the CEO makes the ultimate decisions about where to locate and/or expand the business, making his or her perceptions of each state critically important.

Here is what CEOs said about Wisconsin

The Pros
Wisconsin’s new right-to-work legislation is drawing more business prospects to the state. Wisconsin spends over $153 billion a year on incentive programs.

The Cons
“Due to high taxes and a small tax base Wisconsin businesses are primarily privately held with very high product/service margins to cover the tax burdens.”

“Wisconsin has chosen a path of letting its infrastructure deteriorate, not funding schools, letting roads deteriorate, reducing protections for public lands and waters. Violent crime is on the rise and local control is being undermined. The future is depressing due to gerrymandering of political boundaries and lack of commitment to investment.”

“Wisconsin has a great workforce and expenses are about 1/3 of the east coast. Taxes are fair to moderate in impact.”

The Details: Here's where Wisconsin stacks up nationwide.

#30 in Taxation and Regulation
#15 in Workforce Quality
#19 in Living Environment
Right to Work? Yes

As it turns out, Walker and Trump both make good points about Wisconsin, but given Wisconsin's 11th-place ranking and some strong positive qualities, the arrow looks like its pointing more toward Walker than Trump on this one.

Walker's Statement

Gov. Walker issued a statement Tuesday reflecting on the news:

“This is great news for businesses and employees in our state,” Governor Walker said. “Wisconsin continues to improve in this ranking every year – from 41st in 2010 to 11th in 2016. This new ranking is yet another indication our reforms are working and continue to move Wisconsin forward. We are committed to ensuring our state is a great place to live, work, and raise a family and we will continue to implement pro-business policies to help Wisconsin businesses succeed and grow.”

For a complete list of the “best and worst” business climates per state, click here. You’ll also find the methodology used to achieve the rankings by accessing the magazine’s website.

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