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Fact check: Has Indiana consistently ranked in the top 10 best states to do business?
February 15, 2016
By Charles Aull
In his State of the state addresses #Indiana|2016 State of the State address last month, Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) listed a string of economic accomplishments from his first three years in office. Among them was a claim that “Indiana consistently ranks in the top 10 best states to do business.”[1] When we looked into the details of this statement, we found Pence's claim to be correct. While we found three other organizations that have produced rankings with a broader mix of results, there is one organization that has consistently ranked Indiana as one of the top 10 "best states to do business" every year Pence has been in office.
Business in Indiana
There are a number of organizations that annually rank states based on issues related to business. The Tax Foundation, for example, ranks states based on their “business tax climates.”[2] Bloomberg Business publishes an annual list of the “most innovative states,” a list that ranks states based on metrics such as “research and development intensity” and “patent activity.”[3] But we took Pence to mean something broader when he said “best states to do business.” So we looked at four different organizations that annually publish lists of best and worst states for business: Forbes, CNBC, ChiefExecutive.net, a website focused on “helping CEOs do their jobs better,” and SiteSelection.com, a website that describes itself as "a publication providing current and pertinent data to governments, investors and corporations."[4] All four use different methodologies, which we discuss in more detail below. Figure 1 shows how each organization ranked Indiana for each year Pence has been in office (he was sworn into office in January 2013).
Figure 1.
| Indiana business rankings, 2013 to 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| CNBC | 18 | 19 | 13 | |
| Forbes | 16 | 15 | 8 | |
| Chief Executive | 5 | 6 | 6 | |
| Site Selection | 10 | 13 | 9 | |
Of these four organizations, only Chief Executive has “consistently” ranked Indiana “in the top 10 best states to do business” throughout Pence’s tenure. Forbes has ranked Indiana in its top 10 list once—in 2015. Site Selection ranked it in their top 10 twice. CNBC has ranked the state no higher than 13.
Indiana’s rankings under Pence are, overall, an improvement over what the state saw under his predecessor Mitch Daniels (R). Daniels served from January 2005 to January 2013. We were able to find rankings for Forbes and Site Selection that went back to 2006, rankings for CNBC that went back to 2007 and rankings for Chief Executive that went back to 2009.
Figure 2.
| Indiana business rankings, 2006 to 2012 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| CNBC | - | 26 | 13 | 15 | 21 | 15 | 14 |
| Forbes | 25 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 29 | 34 | 18 |
| Chief Executive | - | - | - | 13 | 16 | 6 | 5 |
| Site Selection | 6 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
Methodologies
While researching this claim, we wondered why Chief Executive’s rankings differed so significantly from those of CNBC, Forbes and Site Selection. One explanation we came up with is methodology. There are two key methodological differences that separate Chief Executive’s rankings from those of the other three. The first is the fact that Chief Executive’s rankings are the results of a survey. To compile its rankings, Chief Executive surveys the thoughts and opinions of “more than 500 CEOs” each year.[5] The approaches used by CNBC and Forbes for their rankings feature no survey component, while Site Selection bases half of its rankings on a survey of business executives, who are asked to rank states on their experiences "locating facilities in them."[6][7][8]
A second key methodological difference is that Chief Executive uses fewer criteria for establishing its rankings than CNBC, Forbes and Site Selection. Its survey asks CEOs to rank states based on three categories: “Taxes and Regulations, Workforce Quality and Living Environment.”[5] Conversely, Forbes bases its rankings on six criteria: business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. It relies on studies conducted by organizations such as the Tax Foundation and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.[7] Site Selection also uses six criteria: performance in its "competitiveness" rankings, number of new corporate facilities per capita; new projects to date; new projects per capita, facilities in compliance with Site Selection's "New Plant Database" and state tax burdens as analyzed by the Tax Foundation and the tax-advisory firm KPMG.[8] CNBC uses 10 criteria and weighs them on a sliding scale from most-to-least important: workforce (most important), cost of doing business, infrastructure, economy, quality of life, technology and innovation, education, business friendliness, cost of living and access to capital (least important).[6]
In pointing out these methodological differences, we make no arguments about which rankings are more authoritative or informative. Instead, we suggest that they may account for why Chief Executive’s rankings for Indiana have differed from those of Forbes, CNBC and Site Selection.
When we contacted Governor Pence's office for comment on this article, his deputy press secretary noted that "Chief Executive has ranked Indiana in the top 10 every year [of Pence's tenure]."[9]
Conclusion
In his 2016 State of the State address last month, Governor Mike Pence sought to highlight some of Indiana’s economic accomplishments under his watch by stating, “Indiana consistently ranks in the top 10 best states to do business.” To fact check this statement, we compiled rankings from Forbes, CNBC, Chief Executive and Site Selection from 2013 to 2015. We found that one organization—Chief Executive—has consistently rated Indiana in its top 10 list throughout Pence’s tenure, which makes his statement factually accurate. On the other hand, we looked at three other organizations—Forbes, CNBC and Site Selection—that have produced a broader mix of results for Indiana in the past three years.
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ Journal Gazette, "State of the State address," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Tax Foundation, "State Business Tax Climate," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Here are the most innovate states in America," January 7, 2016
- ↑ Conway.com, "Site Selection Magazine," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ChiefExecutive.net, "Best/Worst States for Business Survey Methodology," May 1, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 CNBC, "America's top states for business 2015: our methodology," May 27, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Forbes, "Rankings the best states for business 2015: behind the numbers," October 21, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 SiteSelection.com, "Business Climate Ranking," November 2015
- ↑ Email exchange with Stephanie Hodgin on February 12, 2016
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