Five reasons why Georgia is the top state for business success in 2025
Writer: Mirella Franzese
February 2025 — The Peach State defeats the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Texas as the No. 1 Best Business Climate state in this year’s latest annual Site Selectors Survey, underscoring the region’s reputation as a top-tier business investment hub. Here are five reasons why Georgia is considered the premier destination for businesses in 2025, ranging from favorable state and local tax policies, supply of skilled workforce, low cost of living, logistics and infrastructure, and accessible training programs.
Low taxes
Compared to major business hubs in the Northeast and Southwest of the country — namely New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California — the Peach State has one of the lowest corporate tax rates. Against the rate stabilization trend seen across most domestic markets, Georgia’s 2025 corporate tax rate was lowered to 5.39% from 5.75%, achieving a 32nd ranking in Tax Foundations’ analysis of “Top Marginal Corporate Income Tax Rates as of January 2025.” Georgia also clocks in at a more favorable rate than neighboring states, Florida and Tennessee, which offer rates at 5.5% and 6.5%, respectively. According to a recent press release, Garner Economics President Jay Garner stated that the legislative branch in Georgia, as well as other southern states, “worked tirelessly for years to be business friendly.”
Logistics & Infrastructure
Development infrastructure and high availability of inventory are other main differentiators for the state of Georgia, according to Tess Fay, principal and vice president of Global Location Strategies, a leading site selection and incentives negotiation firm for manufacturing and industrial companies operating out of South Carolina. “The South has a logistics and infrastructure advantage that has always made them attractive for [site selection] projects,” said Fay, as cited by Site Selectors.
Georgia alone hauls over $900 billion of cargo each year, offering significant business advantages for companies choosing to handle logistics within the state. In fact, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Delta Airline’s official headquarters, is the busiest and most efficient airport in the world, and a premier cargo facility. Additionally, Georgia is home to the largest rail system in all of the Southeast and the fastest-growing port in the country. Businesses can reach 80% of the U.S. market within two hours by air travel or within two days by land, which further underscores the efficiency of Georgia’s infrastructure. As a result, more than 15,000 logistics establishments, including major U.S. companies, Americold, GreyOrange, The Home Depot, Norfolk Southern, and UPS, operate out of the state’s extensive transportation network.
Workforce
More than 88% of Fortune 500 companies currently operate in the area, which showcases the strength of Georgia’s employment sector. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, while many states face a steep challenge in finding workers to fill open jobs, Georgia remains ahead of the curve with 54 available workers for every 100 open jobs. The unemployment rate in the state is also 0.4% lower than the national average, having stabilized around 3.7% since November 2024 up until now. Jobs have also increased by 60,400 over the year, surpassing the all-time high 4.9 million mark. Among the highest job growth sectors were Health Care and Social Assistance (32,800), Accommodation and Food Services (15,300) Local Government (10,200) Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (6,100) and Federal Government (4,600).
The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) Interim Successor, Louis DeBroux, credits Georgia’s growth as a leading investment destination down to the quality and quantity of workforce. “With unemployment again outperforming the national average and job numbers on the verge of surpassing 5 million, Georgia is just 5,100 jobs away from making history,” said Debroux in a January press release. “This historic milestone is undeniable proof of the strength of our economy, the determination and resilience of our workforce, and the relentless drive of Georgia’s businesses to create growth and opportunity for all.”
Low Cost of Living
Georgia ranks among the Top 5 states with the lowest costs of living, according to recent statistics from Data Panda. The cost of living in Georgia is 8.6% lower than the national average, which is key for businesses seeking to attract and retain a local skilled workforce.
Even Atlanta, one of the most expensive cities in the Peach State, offers a cost of living that is 3.5% lower than other major U.S. cities. According to state records, the city is more affordable than Top 8 metropolitan areas, such as Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C, and New York. Housing is also 21% lower than the U.S. average, with median home prices in Georgia’s most affordable cities ranging from $150,000 (Albany, GA) to $245,000 (Statesboro, GA), according to data from Redfin. Utilities and transportation costs are relatively low as well, making commuting easily accessible for workers.
Education and Training Opportunities
The Technical College System of Georgia offers free training opportunities for workers and students alike, supporting the creation of a highly educated talent pool, and providing employers with the opportunity to upskill their workforce in some of the most in-demand capabilities.
Georgia’s workforce development program, Georgia Quick Start, is No. 1 in the country and encompasses six specialized training centers: The Advanced Manufacturing program, which operates out of a 48,000-square-foot center in Savannah and covers mechatronics, teaches a range of skills related to systems, automation and robots, software, equipment and operation controls, and industrial technologies; The Aviation program, born out of a partnership between Gulfstream and Savannah Technical College, to train avionics technicians and other professionals; The Georgia BioScience Training Center, based just East of Atlanta in Stanton Springs, which boasts a built-in program to support Takeda Pharmaceuticals and other life science manufacturers; the Georgia Cyber Center, considered the single largest state investment in a cybersecurity facility in the nation, which offers both certificate and graduate school courses; the Film program at the Georgia Film Academy, which provides professional training for those seeking to enter the motion pictures industry; and lastly, the Georgia FinTech Academy, an online academy developed through collaborations with regional financial tech employers, made available through Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities.
For more information, please visit:
https://georgia.org/press-release/georgia-named-no-1-best-business-climate-site-selectors
Poto credit: seda.org
