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It was 2007. George W. Bush was president. The U.S. economy was expanding, but there were growing signs that the explosive growth in the housing market — and maybe the entire boom of the past five or six years — was a giant bubble.  

As gains became ever more elusive, states got more aggressive trying to attract new businesses and retain existing ones. Some states always seemed to do better than others, and CNBC set out to learn why. America's Top States for Business was born. 

For 20 years, governors in the Top States have touted their CNBC rankings, while political opponents in the also-rans used them to try and pummel the party in power. Companies like Amazon said they consulted the rankings when making high-stakes location decisions, like the nationwide HQ2 sweepstakes in 2018. 

Today, with the benefit of so much hindsight, some patterns have become clear.

A few states have been remarkably consistent, like Virginia, Texas and North Carolina — rarely finishing outside the top 10. Others have been consistent in the other direction, like Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island and West Virginia — sometimes due to reasons beyond their control, but other times because they couldn't seem to get out of their own way. 

But there have also been some significant moves in the past 20 years. 

Consider Michigan. The U.S. auto industry was on the cusp of the worst crisis in its history in 2007, with GM and Chrysler months away from going bankrupt. The Wolverine State finished at No. 41 overall that year, including No. 46 for Economy. Today, it ranks No. 6 overall, the biggest 20-year improvement of any state, thanks to low costs, a great infrastructure, and good access to capital. 

Or Ohio. America's Top State for Business in 2026 finished 30th overall in 2007, having lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2007. The state ranked No. 33 for Cost of Doing Business in 2007. Today, it is No. 1. 

On the flipside, South Dakota, which finished 18th in our first year and rose to Top State in 2013, finishes 44th in 2026, including the No. 45 Economy, down from No. 24 in 2007, and No. 33 for Quality of Life this year, compared to No. 18 in our first year.  

Or Idaho, the No. 6 state in 2007 with the lowest Cost of Doing Business. This year, it drops to 30th overall, and to No. 28 for business costs.