Georgia tops Area Development business ranking again

Georgia extends its run at No. 1

Georgia has taken the top overall spot in Area Development magazine’s 2026 ranking of states for doing business, marking the 13th consecutive year the state has led the survey.

Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Economic Development announced the result. The ranking has remained with Georgia throughout Kemp’s eight years as governor.

Kemp credited Georgia’s workforce, available facilities, project sites and partnerships among state officials, educators and economic-development organizations. He highlighted manufacturing as one of the industries contributing to the state’s business activity and said the state’s goal is to create more jobs for Georgians.

The designation comes from Area Development, a publication focused on corporate site selection and facilities planning. It is the magazine’s assessment rather than a federal or state government ranking.

How the survey works

Area Development’s 2026 Top States for Doing Business survey drew input from about 50 site-selection consultants around the country. These consultants assess factors that businesses consider when deciding where to locate or expand operations.

Georgia ranked first overall and led three individual categories: access to skilled manufacturing workers, cooperative and responsive government, and the overall speed of moving a project toward operation. The state also received high scores across the other areas considered in the survey.

Kemp’s office described the results as being based on scores in 15 categories. Area Development President and Publisher Dennis Shea separately described consultants as evaluating states across 20 factors. Shea said Georgia’s broad performance across location considerations, including its leading results in several heavily weighted areas, helped it maintain the top position.

The 2026 edition is the 17th annual version of Area Development’s survey. Georgia has held first place for most of the survey’s history, including each of the past 13 years.

How state leaders explained the result

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones connected the ranking to state actions on taxes and workforce development. He also pointed to efforts intended to attract both large and small employers.

Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns highlighted state spending on early literacy and workforce programs, along with tax relief and infrastructure. Burns said the House intends to continue pursuing policies aimed at keeping the state competitive and expanding employment opportunities.

Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson framed the ranking as the result of decisions made over many years. He said the state’s approach has emphasized creating long-term opportunities for Georgians rather than focusing only on immediate results.

Kemp also credited the General Assembly, economic developers, educators, workforce organizations and Georgia workers. Those groups have different roles: lawmakers set state policy and spending, educators and workforce programs prepare workers, and economic-development officials work with businesses considering projects in the state.

What comes next

The ranking gives Georgia officials another way to present the state to companies weighing new facilities or expansions. The three categories Georgia led also identify the parts of its business-development strategy that received the strongest response from participating consultants.

Future state policy work will show how leaders act on the priorities they associated with the ranking. Jones emphasized taxes and workforce preparation, while Burns identified literacy, workforce development, family tax relief and infrastructure as areas for continued attention.

Area Development’s future surveys will offer another measure of whether consultants continue to rate Georgia highly across those factors. The annual ranking does not itself enact policy; decisions on taxes, state spending, education and infrastructure remain with the governor and General Assembly.