National Recognitions
See What People Are Saying About The Palmetto State:
Business Facilities: Has consistently rated South Carolina as one of the strongest states in the Southeast for manufacturing.
Competitiveness Redbook: The state ranks forty-fourth (fiftieth is best) in this 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: South Carolina has the third most favorable business climate in the United States, according to this latest survey of senior-level U.S. corporate executives and the site selection consultants.
Entrepreneur: Named South Carolina among the top 5 states for entrepreneurs.
Expansion Management: Recently named South Carolina’s three largest metropolitan areas--Charleston, Columbia and Greenville--to its annual “America’s 50 Hottest Cities” list, as well as the Charlotte metropolitan area, which includes York County.
Expansion Management: Has ranked Charleston-North Charleston and Columbia MSAs as “5-star Logistics Metros” and Greenville and Spartanburg MSAs as “4-star Logistics Metros,” further highlighting the state’s excellent market access.
Expansion Management: The magazine's poll of corporate site location consultants in June 2006 ranked the state as the nation's fifth best in work force training programs. South Carolina has ranked in this list's top five for the past seven years.
Forbes: Ranks South Carolina seventh best in 2006 for its pro-business regulatory environment.
Foreign Direct Investment: Has ranked Charleston as second best in the nation in the large city category (500,000-2 million population) for infrastructure, and Greenville ranked third in the small city category (100,000-500,000) for best human resources and most business friendly.
Milken Institute Cost of Doing Business Index 2007: South Carolina ranked as the sixth lowest cost state.
Outside Magazine: Ranked Charleston among its 10 “New American Dream Towns,” saying “you can't capture a sense of place and charm in a bottle, of course. But Charleston has come pretty close.”
Pollina Corporation: South Carolina has been named a “Top 10 Pro-Business State” for each of the four 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 has placed in the top 10 of top state business climates and also in its survey based on business executives’ opinions.
Small Business and Entrepreneurial Council: This nonprofit advocacy group in 2006 named the state as having one of the ten lowest corporate income tax rates.
AmericanStyle Magazine: Ranked Charleston in its top 25 arts destinations for small cities and towns (populations under 100,000) in 2006.
Bike Magazine: Has recognized Greenville as one of the five best towns for living and bike riding.
Travel + Leisure: The magazine’s recent listing of America’s 100 top golf communities ranks Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton second and Kiawah Island fifth. A total of 10 golf communities in the Upstate and Low Country were included in the Top 100.
Maersk Line: The world’s largest ocean carrier ranked the Port of Charleston as the company’s most productive port.
World Trade: Named the Port of Charleston, which hosts more than 40 shipping lines, as #1 in customer satisfaction in 2006.