Site Selection Magazine, a business publication covering corporate real estate and economic development, has released its 2023 regional workforce development rankings.
All 50 states were ranked across seven regions, using a variety of measures to assess the overall climate of their workforces. Those metrics included CNBC's top states for business workforce subranking, U.S. News' best states for education ranking, percent improvement in ACT National Career Readiness Certificates earned by working-age adults year over year, the Workforce Preparation and Development component of the Council for Community and Economic Research's State Economic Development Program Expenditures Database, and whether the state exceeds requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 by connecting education to workforce development.
Here is where each state fell on the magazine's rankings, separated by region:
Northeast:
1. Connecticut
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. New Hampshire
5. Vermont
6. Massachusetts
7. Pennsylvania
8. Maine
9. Rhode Island
East North Central:
1. Illinois
2. Indiana
3 (tie). Michigan
3 (tie). Ohio
5. Wisconsin
South Atlantic:
1. Virginia
2. North Carolina
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Maryland
6. South Carolina
7. Delaware
8. West Virginia
South Central:
1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. Louisiana
4. Mississippi
5. Texas
6. Tennessee
7. Kentucky
8. Oklahoma
West North Central:
1. Iowa
2. Kansas
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota
5. South Dakota
6. Nebraska
7. Missouri
Mountain:
1. Colorado
2. New Mexico
3. Idaho
4. Nevada
5. Wyoming
6. Utah
7. Arizona
8. Montana
Pacific:
1. California
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Hawaii
5. Alaska