North Carolina climbed back into one of five top spots on CBNC's annual list of America's Top States for Business.
As it counts down the nation's 50 states on where each ranks in business competitiveness, CNBC announced Tuesday morning that North Carolina has moved up four spots from last year to land at No. 5.
"North Carolina's best category ranking is access to capital — the second best in the nation," says CNBC. "Money flowed into the state last year both from venture capital and small-business loans and helped bump the state from No. 9 in 2015 to Top 5 this year."
CNBC noted that North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2 — often called a "bathroom law" for barring transgender individuals from using a public restroom that coincides with their gender identity — and its impact on business caused the Tar Heel State to take a hit in the quality of life category, where it landed in 30th place.
"And although job growth was healthy last year, unemployment remains above the national average at 5.1 percent," says CNBC. "North Carolina's individual income tax rate is 5.75 percent and the corporate tax is 5 percent. The state and local sales tax tops out at 7 percent, and the largest employer in the state is Wal-Mart.
CNBC has scored all 50 states on more than 60 measures of competitiveness, then separated those metrics into 10 categories: workforce, cost of doing business, infrastructure, economy, quality of life, technology and innovation, education, business friendliness, cost of living and access to capital.
In the 10 years that CNBC has compiled its top states for business report, North Carolina's best showing was in 2011 when it placed at No. 3.
The following states beat North Carolina in the ranking: Minnesota (No. 4), Colorado (No. 3), Texas (No. 2) and Utah (No. 1). The complete list can be found here.