RALEIGH
Mar 1, 2012
Gov. Bev Perdue today announced North Carolina jumped to 4th place in the 2011 Governor’s Cup Site Selection magazine. Last year, North Carolina finished 6th. The Governor’s Cup is awarded annually based on the number of new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database. North Carolina was ranked the number one state in the South Atlantic Region.
“These rankings clearly show our commitment to create a business-friendly climate is paying off," said Gov. Perdue. “Globally competitive companies understand that our state is a great place to locate a business or expand an existing facility because of our tremendous workforce and customized training programs.”
In addition to these rankings, North Carolina ranked second in the country in the number of top mircopolitans – cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county. In fact, North Carolina has three of the top five micropolitans in the nation. Statesville-Mooresville claimed the top prize among the nation’s 576 micropolitan areas for the eighth time in 10 years. Also, Lexington-Thomasville finished ranked fourth and Shelby ranked fifth. Greensboro-High Point ranked 7th in new and expanded facilities for Tier Two Metros that have a population between 200,000 and 1 million.
The magazine’s New Plant Database focuses on new corporate location projects with significant impact. New facilities and expansions included in the analysis must meet at least one of three criteria: involve a capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs, or add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area.
The 2011 Governor’s Cup rankings can be seen at www.siteselection.com.
“These rankings clearly show our commitment to create a business-friendly climate is paying off," said Gov. Perdue. “Globally competitive companies understand that our state is a great place to locate a business or expand an existing facility because of our tremendous workforce and customized training programs.”
In addition to these rankings, North Carolina ranked second in the country in the number of top mircopolitans – cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county. In fact, North Carolina has three of the top five micropolitans in the nation. Statesville-Mooresville claimed the top prize among the nation’s 576 micropolitan areas for the eighth time in 10 years. Also, Lexington-Thomasville finished ranked fourth and Shelby ranked fifth. Greensboro-High Point ranked 7th in new and expanded facilities for Tier Two Metros that have a population between 200,000 and 1 million.
The magazine’s New Plant Database focuses on new corporate location projects with significant impact. New facilities and expansions included in the analysis must meet at least one of three criteria: involve a capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs, or add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area.
The 2011 Governor’s Cup rankings can be seen at www.siteselection.com.