Magazines name Arizona top state for economic competitiveness
Jun 9, 2017, 10:39 AM
PHOENIX — Two magazines have given awards to Arizona that each recognize the Grand Canyon State as one of the best in the country for economic competition and development.
According to a release from the office of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Site Selection magazine’s 2017 Prosperity Cup ranked Arizona the most competitive state in the mountain region, which was defined as Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, and — of course — Arizona.
Area Development magazine gave Arizona its 2017 Gold Shovel Award for being the top state in economic development in the population category of 5 million to 8 million.
The statement from Ducey’s office said that award was given in part because of Arizona’s thousands of projected new jobs, as well as capital investments. Those investments total more than $1 billion combined from Lucid Motors (for a manufacturing plant in Casa Grande), Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson and the payroll and human services firm ADP.
“These two recognitions emphasize what we already know about Arizona: The state of our state is strong and rising,” Ducey said in the statement.
The Prosperity Cup, meanwhile, factors in criteria such as “new and expanded facilities,” new jobs created, capital investment, tax climate and more.
Site Selection covers economic development and corporate real estate, and Area Development is a quarterly publication that covers corporate development, location selection and relocation.
