24. South Carolina

The Palmetto State offers low costs, a strong economy and sturdy infrastructure. Yet, education is underfunded, and school performance is subpar.

Published 4:17 PM ET Tue, 24 June 2014 Updated 4:38 PM ET Mon, 7 July 2014 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2014 Rank	2013 Rank
Cost of Doing Business	322	9	8
Workforce	146	25	9
Quality of Life	98	40	41
Infrastructure & Transportation	220	14	15
Economy	255	13	35
Education	49	43	36
Technology & Innovation	118	30	26
Business Friendliness	74	34	34
Cost of Living	41	10	19
Access to Capital	5	41 (Tie)	19
Overall	1328	24	23

Economic Profile

Governor: Nikki Haley, Republican

Population: 4,774,839

GDP growth: 1.2 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2014): 5.3 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 7 percent

Gasoline tax: 35 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: Aaa/stable

Major private employer: Wal-Mart

Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody's Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Carolina FY 2013 CAFR

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