11. South Dakota

The Mount Rushmore State offers monumentally-friendly business regulations, but costs have risen along with the state’s profile. The state ranks at the bottom for innovation.

Published 4:22 PM ET Tue, 24 June 2014 Updated 3:24 PM ET Wed, 2 July 2014 CNBC.com

Category	Score	2014 Rank	2013 Rank
Cost of Doing Business	336	6	1
Workforce	204	6 (Tie)	11
Quality of Life	217	10	7
Infrastructure & Transportation	180	31 (Tie)	19
Economy	241	20	6
Education	69	30 (Tie)	30
Technology & Innovation	35	50	48
Business Friendliness	177	2	2
Cost of Living	35	16	26
Access to Capital	13	26	39
Overall	1507	11	1

Economic Profile

Governor: Dennis Daugaard

Population: 844.877

GDP growth: 3.1 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2014): 3.8 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 0 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 0 percent

Gasoline tax: 40 cents/gallon

Bond rating/outlook: No Governmental Obligations/stable

Major private employer: Avera

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

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