Rank Sentiment

New York CEOs are not happy. They rated the Big Apple 49th out of 50 for the second year in a row, making it the second-worst state in which to do business, according to Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best & Worst States for Business survey. This survey gauges the sentiment of CEOs on a variety of measures that they themselves have viewed as critical. These include the tax and regulatory regime, the quality of the workforce, and the quality of the living environment. CEO sentiment drives investments in offices, factories and other facilities that bring jobs to a region. Despite the CEOs’ concerns, New York is the third-largest state by GDP, with an output of $1.46 trillion. It has more Fortune 500 headquarters than any other state, and is one of the 10 best states for high tech. Oh, and there’s New York City itself – a business hub and one of the most popular U.S. tourist attractions.

Within the last year, two large corporations—Cadillac and Anheuser-Busch—have both announced they will move their sales and marketing headquarters from the midwest to New York.

“New York’s locale is ideal for companies across all industries,” said Marshall Cooper, CEO of Chief Executive magazine and ChiefExecutive.net. “But their tax burden and oppressive cost of living are going to continue to be problematic for the state if they don’t make some aggressive changes.”

“New York, and in particular New York City, needs to be more supportive of businesses, or all the jobs will leave with the businesses,” one CEO said. Another responded, “We left New York after more than 30 years because of declining quality of life and heavy taxes.”

On the positive side, another CEO stated that “New York has improved under the leadership of Governor Cuomo.”

The magazine does not draw a conclusion, but the survey results are lopsided.

The tax burden gives new meaning to the lyrics: “If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere….”