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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - For the 11th year in a row, Georgia has once again been named the No. 1 state for business, Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Friday.

The accolade comes from Area Development Magazine, which largely covers corporations and where they decide to do business. Kemp shared the news with attendees at the second annual Governor’s Workforce Summit, which was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta.

“Thank you to all of our incredible partners on the state and local level who made this possible,” he said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

The magazine lent some of Georgia’s success to Georgia Quick Start, a workforce development program through the Technical College System of Georgia that trains workers for jobs in manufacturing, biotechnology, information technology and other industries. It also credited the state’s capable infrastructure, including the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Port of Savannah and Georgia’s “robust” roads and railways.

But perhaps most importantly, Georgia offers competitive business tax rates and incentives, Area Development Magazine said. In April, Kemp signed a bill that matches corporations’ income tax to the rate imposed on individuals — and individuals’ rates are being dropped incrementally each year, with a long-term goal of below 5%.

“The Peach State’s consistent performance across various categories makes it a perennial favorite for businesses looking to expand or relocate,” the magazine wrote.

Southern states starred in the magazine’s top five states for business in 2024. Those include:

Georgia

South Carolina

Tennessee

North Carolina

Indiana