Sometimes it’s hard not to gloat. In August, Forbes magazine conferred upon Virginia the top business climate among the 50 states. (See “Eat My Dust, Texas.”) Now comes a ranking of another kind: If Americans could live in any state they’d choose, they’d pick Virginia No. 2 in the country, trailing only North Carolina.
So says a first-of-its-kind global public opinion poll called the Anholt State Brands Index, based on the responses of 9,000 U.S. citizens. Both states scored in the top 10 for all major categories: climate, physical attractiveness, leisure amenities, ease of finding employment, commercial opportunity, and education.
Said author Simon Anholt: “It is well known that even highly rational decisions – such as major investments and business relocations – are partly driven by so-called ‘soft’ factors, and measuring the brand images of states is an excellent way of getting a handle on these factors. … Brand image is critically important to the prosperity of all communities.”
In a poll of 13,000 foreigners, Virginia ranked behind the mega-brands like California, Florida, Hawaii and New York, but still scored a respectable 7th place. But what do a bunch of foreigners know? Speaking of North Carolina and Virginia, Anholt said: “Their high domestic ranking is presumably all down to local knowledge of the real economic situation of the states, whereas the foreigners are largely guessing.” (Read the press release. Read the report.)
This is heartening news. We Virginians know we have a good business climate. And most of us love living here, too. But we’re biased. On the other hand, Anholt and 9,000 other Americans are not. They love us! They really love us!
