California business climate improved 15 places from 47th to 32nd place according to a ranking produced by CNBC business channel. The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) circulated the ranking which shows California is still 50th in the cost of doing business and 48th in business friendliness but leads the nation in Technology & Innovation and is tied for first in access to capital. The state’s economy ranked ninth among the states.
The California profile from CNBC is appears below.
Meanwhile, the Tax Foundation came out with it’s annual ranking of state tax climates and California ranks 48th. Only New York and New Jersey rank behind California.
California is 50th with the highest individual income tax, 34th in corporate tax and 42nd in sales tax. What probably keeps California from dropping to last place on the Tax Foundation’s Business Tax Climate Index is Proposition 13’s check on property taxes. California’s property taxes are ranked 14th among the states.
From the CNBC ranking: 32. California
The Golden State sets the gold standard for innovation and access to capital, and its economy is turning around. But “golden” could also describe the state’s costs of living and doing business.
| Category | Score | 2014 Rank | 2013 Rank |
| Cost of Doing Business | 50 | 48 | 50 |
| Workforce | 129 | 36 | 34 |
| Quality of Life | 160 | 23 | 27 |
| Infrastructure & Transportation | 194 | 24 | 34 |
| Economy | 276 | 9 | 35 |
| Education | 75 | 26 | 43 |
| Technology & Innovation | 289 | 1 | 2 |
| Business Friendliness | 44 | 48 | 48 |
| Cost of Living | 4 | 47 | 45 |
| Access to Capital | 25 | 1 (Tie) | 1 |
| Overall | 1246 | 32 | 47 |
Economic Profile
Governor: Jerry Brown, Democrat
Population: 38,332,521
GDP growth: 2.0 percent
Unemployment rate (May 2014): 7.8 percent
Top corporate tax rate: 8.84 percent
Top individual income tax rate: 12.30 percent
Gasoline tax: 71 cents/gallon
Bond rating/outlook: A1/stable
Major private employer: NA
Economic profile sources: Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute, Moody’s Investor Service, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics