| Rank | State | Wage Cost (1) Wage and Salary/ Employee | Tax Burden(2) Tax/Personal Income | Electricity Cost(3) Cents per Kilowatt Hour | Industrial Rent Costs(4) Cost per Square Foot | Office Rent Costs(5) Cost per Square Foot | Cost of Doing Business Index |
| 1 | South Dakota | 30,081 | 44.6 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 13.8 | 70.2 |
| 2 | Iowa | 33,696 | 61.7 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 13.6 | 79.7 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 30,895 | 78.4 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 15.4 | 81.3 |
| 4 | Nebraska | 33,757 | 65.1 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 19.3 | 82.3 |
| 5 | Idaho | 31,926 | 71.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 15.6 | 82.8 |
| 6 | South Carolina | 33,930 | 60.8 | 5.9 | 3.5 | 18.4 | 82.9 |
| 7 | Montana | 30,739 | 73.4 | 6.3 | 4.0 | 15.7 | 84.1 |
| 8 | Missouri | 36,673 | 53.3 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 18.6 | 84.6 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 36,767 | 54.6 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 18.0 | 85.2 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 31,818 | 88.6 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 13.9 | 85.4 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 33,804 | 67.5 | 6.6 | 3.4 | 16.3 | 85.4 |
| 11 | Alabama | 35,488 | 59.3 | 6.0 | 4.3 | 17.4 | 85.8 |
| 12 | Kansas | 35,035 | 65.3 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 18.8 | 86.8 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 32,286 | 89.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 18.1 | 87.1 |
| 14 | Indiana | 36,203 | 66.4 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 17.3 | 87.3 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 34,706 | 80.6 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 16.9 | 87.3 |
| 15 | Mississippi | 30,786 | 77.6 | 7.9 | 3.9 | 15.4 | 88.4 |
| 16 | Utah | 35,173 | 73.5 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 20.4 | 90.1 |
| 17 | Georgia | 40,019 | 57.0 | 6.4 | 3.6 | 20.1 | 90.7 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 37,044 | 72.2 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 18.1 | 90.8 |
| 19 | Ohio | 38,068 | 64.4 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 18.6 | 91.0 |
| 20 | Oregon | 37,345 | 60.9 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 21.4 | 91.4 |
| 21 | Arizona | 39,493 | 60.4 | 6.2 | 3.7 | 23.1 | 91.6 |
| 22 | Colorado | 43,058 | 45.8 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 19.8 | 92.8 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 35,918 | 72.7 | 8.5 | 3.6 | 16.6 | 93.9 |
| 24 | Virginia | 43,834 | 57.4 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 20.6 | 95.6 |
| 25 | Texas | 41,956 | 45.4 | 8.7 | 4.7 | 18.2 | 95.9 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 36,105 | 71.5 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 20.6 | 96.4 |
| 27 | New Mexico | 34,556 | 88.1 | 6.8 | 5.0 | 16.7 | 96.6 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | 40,503 | 63.7 | 7.6 | 4.3 | 21.2 | 97.2 |
| 29 | Michigan | 41,697 | 69.4 | 7.1 | 4.3 | 18.6 | 98.9 |
| 30 | Florida | 38,299 | 57.4 | 8.7 | 6.1 | 23.3 | 99.3 |
| 31 | Illinois | 45,045 | 57.4 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 25.6 | 99.9 |
| 32 | Maine | 33,692 | 84.0 | 10.6 | 4.3 | 16.4 | 100.3 |
| 33 | Wyoming | 36,064 | 101.3 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 15.5 | 101.6 |
| 34 | Washington | 43,711 | 68.6 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 25.3 | 102.7 |
| 35 | Nevada | 40,385 | 66.5 | 8.6 | 5.6 | 27.0 | 104.2 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 41,387 | 86.6 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 17.8 | 104.3 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 41,277 | 40.3 | 13.8 | 5.9 | 14.3 | 105.3 |
| 38 | Maryland | 45,632 | 58.8 | 9.2 | 4.6 | 23.1 | 106.4 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 39,630 | 68.7 | 12.9 | 3.6 | 23.8 | 108.0 |
| 40 | Delaware | 46,327 | 85.9 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 22.5 | 110.1 |
| 41 | Vermont | 35,178 | 112.6 | 9.9 | 4.5 | 17.5 | 110.2 |
| 42 | New Jersey | 50,809 | 61.5 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 23.5 | 120.9 |
| 43 | California | 48,110 | 78.4 | 9.9 | 6.9 | 28.3 | 122.9 |
| 44 | Connecticut | 54,007 | 69.4 | 12.1 | 5.6 | 23.3 | 127.5 |
| 45 | Massachusetts | 51,163 | 65.7 | 13.9 | 6.3 | 33.1 | 130.6 |
| 46 | Alaska | 42.023 | 99.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 16.9 | 130.8 |
| 47 | New York | 53,865 | 66.7 | 10.5 | 7.6 | 38.0 | 130.9 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 38,256 | 105.4 | 19.3 | 13.2 | 28.1 | 151.5 |
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Notes:
1 Wage cost measures the average annual wage per employee in all industries (receives 50% weight)
2 Tax Burden measures the annual state tax revenue as a share of personal income (receives 20% weight)
3 Measures the cost of commercial and industrial electricity cost in cents per kilowatt-hour (receives 15% weight)
4 Measures the cost of renting industrial (warehouse) space on a per square-foot basis (receives 10% weight)
5 Measures the cost of renting office space on a per square-foot basis (receives 5% weight)
Source: Milken Institute, "2007 Cost-of-Doing Business Index," www.milkeninstitute.org
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