Best States for Business 2019

West Virginia

the place image

West Virginia

gross state product
$79B
population
1.8M
median household income
$44,546
cost of doing business
5% below nat'l avg
college attainment
20.2%
net migration
-4,200 (year: 2018)
unemployment
4.8%
moody`s bond rating
Aa2
governor
Jim Justice
As of December 2019
After three straight last place finishes, West Virginia moved up one spot in Forbes' Best States for Business in 2018. Population growth has been anemic—worst in the U.S.—and the state's college attainment rate is the lowest in the country, with only 20% of its population over the age of 25 possessing a degree. The state's legal climate ranks among the worst when measuring business friendliness, according to the Institute for Legal Reform. West Virginia is the second largest coal-producing state in the U.S. after Wyoming.
One plus: the state's corporate net income tax rate dropped from 9% to 6.5% between 2007 and 2014.
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On forbes lists
#13
In Business Costs
#50
In Labor Supply
#50
In Regulatory Environment
#48
In Economic Climate
#50
In Growth Prospects
#46
In Quality of Life
By The Numbers
EmploymentHousingEducationQuality of Life
Job Growth
1.3% (year: 2018)
Projected Annual Job Growth
0.5%
Unemployment
4.8%
Median Household Income
$44,546
Household Income Growth
1.5%
Right to Work State
yes
Union Workforce
10%
  • Sources: Moody's Analytics; U.S. Census; ATTOM Data Solutions; FBI; BLS; Forbes.
  • a. Index measures whether a family earning the median income can afford the median-priced home. A value of 120 indicates a typical household has 20% more income than needed for the typical home.
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More on Forbes

Apr 26, 2024

America's Top 5 Best Banks 2024

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and peers like First Republic Bank made 2023 the most tumultuous year for the banking industry since the 2008 crisis, but for some small community banks, the chaos hardly registered. City Holding Co., the parent company of West Virginia's City National Bank with $6.2 billion in assets, is based in the capital city of Charleston, in a region of Appalachia known for coal. West Virginia is a state whose population of 1.8 million is on the decline, but president and CEO Skip Hageboeck sees that as an asset instead of a drawback. Major banks don?t reinvest much in West Virginia and surrounding towns in Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky to compete for customers, and City National has steadily increased its market share. Thanks to its focus primarily on retail banking rather than catering to businesses, just $894 million out of $5.1 billion (17.5%) in deposits are uninsured, according to its most recent call report, compared with 41% of total deposits at all U.S. banks. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2024/04/04/americas-best-banks-2024/?sh=2fd50226d762