- July 29, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
Veteran Waco economist Ray Perryman is used to seeing an annual parade of best for business rankings that put Texas at the top.
Those rankings shape perceptions about the state’s business climate — a longtime selling point touted by politicians and economic development specialists alike.
That’s why Perryman finds one recent ranking “eerily disturbing.”
Texas fell to fourth in business news network CNBC’s annual ranking of best states for business, dropping two spots from its 2019 ranking. Virginia, North Carolina and Utah beat out Texas. The network didn’t do a 2020 ranking because of the pandemic.
So what led to Texas’ decline?
Look no further than the Lone Star State’s 49th place finish — ahead of only Arizona — in CNBC’s expanded category called life, health and inclusion. This year, that category included inclusiveness initiatives, health care resources, progress in ending the pandemic and other more traditional quality-of-life…
