The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released its annual Rich States, Poor States report this month, and it placed North Dakota 10th best overall in its Economic Outlook category.

“Having no inheritance tax, some of the lowest workers’ compensation costs in the nation, and being a Right to Work state are three of the bigger reasons we ranked so well in the ALEC report,” said Alison Ritter, NFIB North Dakota state director. “Although it’s important to keep in mind the variety of variables reports like ALEC’s use. Forbes gave us a higher ranking. The value of these reports is giving policymakers food for thought.”

Below is a sample of where North Dakota ranks in other reports:

• A–Truth in Accounting’s Financial State of the States 2023
• 1–Forbes Best States to Start a Small Business (2024)
• 10–American Legislative Exchange Council’s Rich States Poor States (2024)
• 10–Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index
• 14–US News’ Best States 2023
• 17–Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

NFIB does not rank states. Instead, it ranks environments and conditions for small businesses as a whole across the nation. Its most prestigious report, considered the gold standard measurement of the Main Street economy, is the monthly Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report, also known as the Optimism Index.

“The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small businesses, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions,” according to this one-page history of SBET. “Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available.”