Minnesota struggles to compete on climate with many states farther south, but its business climate is among the best in the nation, according to Forbes.
 
Minnesota came in ninth on the “Best States For Business” list, which ranked states by factors such as business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.
 
The ranking is down one place from last year, but above the score two years ago, when Minnesota placed 20th.
 
Explaining the ranking, Forbes cited a strong economy and high quality of life, as well as corporate giants headquartered in the Twin Cities like Target, U.S. Bancorp, General Mills, 3M and Medtronic. This despite Forbes giving Minnesota middling marks for business costs, regulatory environment and growth prospects.
 
Quality of life gave the state a boost: Minnesota got the second-highest marks for its good schools, low poverty and a healthy population.
 

Among those ranked in the top ten, Minnesota was a bit of an outlier. It and two others—Colorado (fifth) and Washington (eighth)—were the only ones that were not so-called “right-to-work states.”
 
North Dakota performed the best of neighboring states, coming in second on the list. Though its quality-of-life ranking was average, Forbes said it was tops for job growth, income growth, gross state product growth and unemployment, which boosted it to its position. The state’s gross state product growth was three times as fast second-ranked Texas.
 
Iowa and South Dakota performed well, placing 12th and 14th respectively. However, Wisconsin performed below average, with business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment and economic climate cited for its 32nd place ranking.
 
Despite Minnesota’s high ranks, some business leaders polled by Twin Cities Business fear the economy may cool this winter.
 
The full list can be read here.