Mo. ranks 13th for recruitment and attraction

Expansion Management magazine named Missouri the 13th best state in the country for recruiting and attracting industries looking to expand or relocate.

Expansion Management, a business magazine for executives, Tuesday released its 2007 "Best Cities for Business Recruitment and Attraction" rankings, developed with the National Policy Research Council, a non-partisan think tank that serves state and local policymakers. The complete list is in the May/June 2007 issue.

Missouri ranked behind Alaska and Tennessee. Arizona topped the list, followed by New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia.

Among the lists, St. Louis County ranked No. 18 among the top 20 large counties for recruitment and attraction. Mecklenberg County in North Carolina, which includes Charlotte and Gastonia, N.C., earned the No. 1 spot on the list. In last place was Hillsborough County in Florida, which includes Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

The rankings are based on analysis of the relocation activity of 19 million companies over the past eight years, which determined the most popular commercial relocation destinations.

Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Management, said the states that made the list should consider it a validation of a strong local economy. "When faced with the decision of where in the entire United States to locate a new facility or branch office, the consensus of millions of business executives was to choose these locations for significant business investment," said King.