Colorado in good competitive economic health

Colorado recently received top marks for its economic health and competitiveness.

Colorado came in at No. 3 — behind Virginia and Texas — in CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Business ’09.” The states were scored using 40 measures of competitiveness in 10 categories:

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• Cost of doing business;
• Workforce;
• Quality of life;
• Economy;
• Transportation;
• Technology and innovation;
• Education;
• Business friendliness;
• Access to capital; and
• Cost of living.

Colorado ranked high on the economy, business friendliness and access to capital. Its lowest marks were in transportation, education and the cost of living.

Additionally, the state ranked second in the nation in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” economic competitiveness index. The index claims to show which states are best positioned to make a recovery based on the relationship between policies and performance.

According to the study, Colorado has poor labor laws and a high debt level, but low taxes and a competitive cost for workers’ compensation.

Utah was ranked as the top state, followed by Colorado, Arizona, Virginia and South Dakota. The states ranking at the bottom were New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont and New York.