S.C. Moves Up State Business Rankings

South Carolina__moved up a spot to No. 7 on Chief Executive magazine's list of the best states in which to do business.

The magazine released today its eighth annual survey of "CEO opinion of Best and Worst States in which to do business." Texas ranked No. 1 and California ranked No. 50, rankings that have remained the same for eight consecutive years.

South Carolina ranked No. 8 in 2011 and No. 10 in 2010.

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This year, 650 business leaders responded to the annual survey, up from 550 in 2011. CEOs were asked to grade states in which they do business among a variety of areas, including tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment.

North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Utah held their positions in the top 10, with Indiana moving up a notch to No. 5.

"It may be no accident that most of the states in the top 20 are also right-to-work states, as labor force flexibility is highly sought after when a business seeks a location," wrote JP Donlon of Chief Executive. "Several economists, most notably Ohio State's Richard Vedder and Harvard's Robert Barro, have found that the economies in R-to-W areas grow faster than other states, have higher employment and attract more inward migration."