Mass Opportunity Alliance in the News
Story Highlights
- Massachusetts ranked 15th on CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business, climbing five spots from last year.
- The state remains the second-most expensive in the nation for doing business, trailing only Hawaii.
- Massachusetts ranked first nationally in educatio, sixth in access to capital.
Massachusetts climbed five spots on CNBC‘s annual America’s Top States for Business list, though the cost of doing business here remained the second-worst in the country.
The Bay State clocked in at 15th overall, five spots higher than last year and the highest the state has ranked on the annual list since it also landed in 15th in 2023.
Massachusetts improved in two key categories between 2025 and 2026; infrastructure and business friendliness. The state’s infrastructure rank jumped 11 spots to 24th in the nation, while business friendliness went from a dismal 42nd to a much more respectable 27th.
The state also saw a small improvement, relatively speaking, in the cost-of-living category, inching up from 43rd last year to 39th this year.
Most expensive state in continental U.S.
Still, one category remained stubbornly poor: Massachusetts remained the second-most expensive state in the nation in which to do business — and the highest in the continental United States, trailing only Hawaii for the top spot. Alaska came in as third most expensive. Massachusetts has ranked as the second most expensive state since 2021.
“It’s encouraging to see Massachusetts moving in the right direction, but modest improvements in certain categories shouldn’t distract from the broader challenges,” said Colin Reed, spokesperson with the Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance. “Steep taxes, rising costs and out-of-control state spending are making it harder for families and businesses to thrive. Looking ahead, we must address these chronic weak spots if we want to climb CNBC’s chart in future years.”
Massachusetts had plenty of strong points. It was No. 1 in the country for education, No. 6 in access to capital, No. 8 in technology and innovation, and No. 10 in quality of life.
Massachusetts also topped the New England states in the overall ranking. Connecticut (23rd), New Hampshire (34th) and Maine (35th) all moved up the list slightly, while Vermont (40th) and Rhode Island (48th) fell.
There has been plenty of business and economic activity in the State House this year. Mass. Gov. Maura Healey has been working to pass an economic development bill, Mass Wins. The House voted to approve its version of the bill, which includes some other affordability and construction bills within it.
State officials have been working to woo more international companies, and just last month economic development officials pledged millions of dollars in tax credits to help fund expansions or establishments of 11 companies across the state. Included in those 11 projects were Boston Dynamics’ Waltham expansion and a $1.3 billion parts factory in Devens from an MIT spinoff.
“Massachusetts continues to be a great place to live and do business, with the best education system in the country, but we know that there is more work to do,” Healey said in a statement. “We’re going to keep working every day to lower costs like housing and health care, create good jobs, make it easier for businesses to start and grow here, make sure every child is getting an excellent education, and grow our global leadership in the innovation economy.”