Data supplied by the Guild factors into top-weighted infrastructure category
New data sourced by the Site Selectors Guild factors into the lead category of America’s Top States for Business 2024. For the first time in the ranking’s 17-year history, infrastructure is the top-weighted category.
“Companies want to move fast,” says CNBC special correspondent Scott Cohn, who leads the annual ranking. “One of the things we’re looking at in infrastructure this year is where the sites are but also state initiatives to create shovel-ready sites.”
How the Guild Collaborated with CNBC
The Site Selectors Guild partnered with Development Counsellors International (DCI) to survey all 50 states on site readiness programs in terms of overall funding and number of certified sites, a completely new input into CNBC’s ranking methodology.
The Guild’s data factors into the infrastructure category measurement alongside data on site availability, utility availability and reliability, broadband access and quality, the condition of highways and bridges, and more.
Infrastructure: The Top-Weighted Category
“It is not surprising that infrastructure is the top-weighted category in this year’s Top States for Business ranking,” says Seth Martindale, board chair of the Site Selectors Guild and senior managing director at CBRE. “As part of The State of Site Selection’s 2024 edition, the Guild’s 68 members identify infrastructure and the availability of development-ready sites as two of the top factors impacting site selection decisions. These are important priorities for companies that value speed in the location decision process and for states and communities that want to remain competitive.”
The Future of Site Readiness
States and communities are responding to the infrastructure’s increased importance in corporate location decisions by investing in site readiness initiatives. Now, REDI Sites, the first national site readiness program, is bringing standardization to site assessment at a national level.
“States and communities are making commendable investments in their site readiness,” says Martindale, “but the variation in assessment criteria and measurement across states’ site readiness programs makes it difficult for companies and site selection consultants to make apples-to-apples site comparisons. REDI Sites helps solve that issue with a standardized and rigorous assessment for all U.S. office and industrial sites.”
Learn more about REDI Sites and view CNBC’s full ranking and methodology for America’s Top States for Business 2024.