Maine is the second-worst state in which to do business, according to an annual list by Forbes magazine released Wednesday.
Citing Maine’s high business costs, strict regulations, poor growth prospects and other factors, the magazine said only West Virginia has a worse business climate.
Maine typically places at or near the bottom of the Forbes list, called Best States for Business. From 2010 to 2013, Maine was ranked dead last. It was 49th in 2014 and 48th last year.
“Much of the blame for the poor showing in recent years can be placed on the state’s high corporate tax burden and lousy job and economic growth forecast,” the magazine explained. “Job and income growth are expected to be among the slowest in the U.S. through 2020. Maine has few big businesses located there, including only one of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies by sales.”
According to Forbes, the list factors in 40 metrics from 17 sources across six broad categories: business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.
The only metric in which Maine ranked high was quality of life, at No. 15.
The top state on this year’s list was Utah, followed by North Carolina, Nebraska, Texas and Colorado. The bottom state was West Virginia, preceded by Maine, Mississippi, Alaska and New Mexico.
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