In its annual list of rankings of each of the 50 states, the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) listed Arkansas as America’s Most Improved State for business as part of its Top States for Business 2026 list, according to data released from CNBC on Thursday.
Arkansas, which was ranked as the 28th best state for business in the organization’s overall rankings, climbed 13 points since CNBC’s last poll, making it the “the largest jump of any state in the nation,” according to a social media post from Greater Maumelle Chamber of Commerce.
According to information from the CNBC, the company’s annual rankings system, now in its 20th year, rates business within “all 50 states on 138 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness,” and includes seven major categories.
Of the categories in the rankings system, Arkansas placed highest (13th) in Workforce and Cost of Doing Business (17th).
CNBC’s Top States for Business 2026 system is based on ”identifying the factors companies consider when making site selection decisions, and where states are focusing their economic development efforts to win jobs and business,” according to the organization’s website. “Each category is weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point.”
The seven categories included are Infrastructure, Economy, Workforce, Quality of Life, Cost of Doing Business, Technology and Innovation and Business Friendliness.
“The report highlights Arkansas’s strong momentum, driven by significant gains in workforce attraction, job growth and quality-of-life factors that continue to draw businesses, workers and families to the Natural State,” the Greater Maumelle Chamber of Commerce stated in the post. “While the rankings also point to areas where Arkansas can continue to improve, this recognition reinforces the progress being made and the opportunities ahead for our state’s economy.”
For more data and information about this year’s list, visit https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/top-states-for-business-americas-2025-the-full-rankings.html.
