South Carolina leaders are welcoming the 2024 edition of Area Development Magazine’s Top States To Do Business.
Georgia holds on to the top spot for the 11th year, but the Palmetto State is in the catbird seat once again. In 2022, it was ranked number 3 and improved to number 3 in 2024. South Carolina muscled its way into the number two spot in 2023 and holds on to that distinction for 2024.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evett (R) was the keynote speaker for the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce’s September Power Lunch. She touched on topics ranging from energy, education, and economic development.
She called South Carolina’s worldwide impact on producing goods, from tires to cars, to F-16 block 70 fighter planes from Lockheed Martin, the state’s “fingerprints.” She told ABD she believes that worldwide reach was a factor in South Carolina’s ranking by the magazine.
“I don’t think people realize we’re the number one tire manufacturer in the world, number one BMW. We produce more BMWs here than anywhere in the world. What we’re doing with Lockheed Martin,” she said. “We’re just building.”
The magazine surveyed experts to determine the top performers in 14 categories. South Carolina ranked first in having cooperative & responsive state and local governments and a favorable regulatory environment.
South Carolina was also ranked number one for the availability of sites. The survey specifically mentioned the LocateSC program is creating a pathway for businesses to open, or expand, in the state. It also was a factor in the state grabbing the number two spot for site readiness programs.
“When you’re a state, it’s a business too, because you’re competing against other states, neighbors all around you,” said Evett. “That’s why it’s important to make sure that we have sites, these mega sites, so that when somebody’s looking to drop brick and mortar, they already see the foundation. We already have the infrastructure that’s there. We already have water that’s there. We’re taking care of that, so they can visualize what will go there, and we get them a leg up on production.”
Evett said it is about more than attracting businesses, it is about developing relationships.
“I’ve heard this time and time again from businesses that have come here, is that we don’t just say, ‘Oh, here’s a site. Oh, you like it, great. It’s been nice doing business with you.’ We find a site. We stay with them. We connect them with our technical colleges. We work on getting them a workforce. And we’re with them all the way to the day they open up their door,” she said.
The Palmetto State was among the top five states for energy availability and costs. Evett told her audience energy is vital to economic development.
“All the careers of the future, whether it comes to security or grid or AI, these are all big energy producers,” she explained. “South Carolina, we’re famous for manufacturing. Manufacturing requires energy. We’re the second fastest-growing state in the nation. People want to be able to turn on their lights right when you turn on your lights, you want us to be affordable, and you want it to be reliable.”
To address the need, Gov. Henry McMaster (R) issued an executive order in 2023 creating the PowerSC Energy Resources and Economic Development Interagency Working Group to work with stakeholders to ensure the state has the necessary energy capacity.
Area Development Magazine’s complete breakdown of the top states for doing business and the criteria is at:
