National Recognition

Florence County and the State of South Carolina are continually recognized for their pro-business climate, qualified workforce, and overall quality of life.

Recent accolades include:

• Milken Institute 2008 Best Performing Cities Index ranked the Florence MSA #5 in the Biggest Gainers category. Florence was evaluated among the top 124 small metropolitan areas.


• Site Selection Magazine's 2008 ranking of top metropolitan areas for new and expanding facilities placed Florence 5th in the United States for communities with a population between 50,00 and 200,000.


• Southern Business & Development rated Florence County as one of the southeast's top five markets for skilled labor.


• Business Facilities magazine has consistently rated South Carolina as one of the strongest states in the Southeast for manufacturing, and in 2008 named South Carolina as the third strongest state for automotive manufacturing growth.


• Business Facilities "Cost of Labor Ranking" placed South Carolina among ten states with the lowest cost of labor.


• CNBC ranks South Carolina's workforce second in the nation; ranks the state fourth for access to transportation in all its modes; and ranks the state ninth in the cost of doing business.


• Competitiveness Redbook positions South Carolina forty-fourth (fiftieth is best) in its Cost of Doing Business Index, produced by the National Association of Manufacturers with the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Research Council.


• Development Counselors International ranks South Carolina as the third most favorable business climate in the United States in its latest survey of senior-level U.S. corporate executives and the site selection consultants.


• Entrepreneur magazine named South Carolina among the top 5 states for entrepreneurs.


• Expansion Management ranked the state as the nation's fourth best in workforce training programs in its 2008 poll of corporate site location consultants. South Carolina has ranked in this list's top five for the past eight years.


• Forbes rated South Carolina third best in 2008 for its pro-business regulatory environment.


• Milken Institute Cost of Doing Business Index ranked South Carolina as the sixth lowest cost state in its 2007 index.


• Pollina Corporation named South Carolina a “Top 10 Pro-Business State” for each of the five years of the Illinois-based corporate real estate consultant’s survey. The state was #1 in both 2005 and 2006.


• Site Selection Magazine placed South Carolina in the top 10 state business climates.


• Small Business and Entrepreneurial Council lauded the state in 2006 for having one of the ten lowest corporate income tax rates.
  

Sources: South Carolina Department of Commerce and Florence County Economic Development Partnership (fcedp.com)