Va. lands back on top in CNBC survey

After downplaying his Democratic predecessor’s consecutive wins in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business study, Gov. Glenn Youngkin found himself as Virginia’s top cheerleader on CNBC July 11, playing the commonwealth regained its crown as No. 1.

With this year’s win, the state has been named the nation’s top state for business a record six times, although it was the
first No. 1 ranking during Youngkin’s tenure. Last year, the Old Dominion scored second place behind North Carolina, but this year the Tar Heel State slid back to the No. 2 slot.

“How exciting and what an honor it is to have CNBC here recognizing Virginia as the top state for business,” Youngkin said in a live interview on the financial news cable network. “I think we work incredibly well together. Economic development is a team sport, and our administration has taken huge strides over the last 2 1/2 years to address some real areas of importance.”

Those include readying more sites for economic development, the governor pointed out. The 2024 CNBC rankings weighted infrastructure greatest this year, with the network noting that Virginia has a “wealth of shovel-ready sites the state offers for companies that want to build fast.” Virginia ranked third in the nation for infrastructure, in addition to retaining first place for education. Home to the world’s greatest concentration of data centers, the commonwealth also ranked fourth for artificial intelligence.

The CNBC win came during a busy week for Youngkin, who announced that LS GreenLink USA, a subsidiary of a South Korean cable manufacturer, plans to build a $681 million subsea cable manufacturing plant in Chesapeake that’s expected to create 338 jobs. The facility would produce cables used for offshore wind farms — the first such facility in the United States. The next day, the governor was on hand for a Dominion Energy announcement that the Fortune 500 utility issued a request for proposals for developing a small modular reactor at Louisa County’s North Anna nuclear power plant in the next decade.

Economic development has been one area where Republicans and Democrats can find some common ground, even when there are disputes over corporate tax cuts desired by the governor, or when projects are opposed by Democratic legislators, such as the failed Alexandria sports arena touted by Youngkin.

While Virginia still has a way to go to attract as many $1 billion-plus megaprojects as other states, clearly the governor’s focus — and funding — for site preparation has created momentum both in terms of business interest and media recognition.