Louisiana received a No. 8 national ranking in Site Election magazine’s recent 2026 Prosperity Cup rankings.
Texas claimed the top spot, followed by North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Virginia and North Dakota. Alabama ranked No. 9, and Tennessee rounded out the top 10. Notably, Louisiana ranked No. 2 in the “South Central” region, bested only by Texas.
The Prosperity Cup is one of the economic development industry’s more closely watched state rankings. Unlike Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup—which focuses primarily on raw corporate facility project counts—the Prosperity Cup attempts to measure broader economic competitiveness.
The rankings are based on a 10-factor index that draws from sources like Site Selection’s projects database, executive surveys and Tax Foundation rankings.
Among the metrics considered are total new and expanded facilities, total capital investment in new and expanded facilities, total new jobs created, tax climate rankings and workforce credential counts.
Louisiana’s top 10 showing comes as the state continues to pursue and secure large-scale projects across the industrial, manufacturing and technology sectors. Louisiana Economic Development touted 2025 as the “largest year of investment and job creation in Louisiana’s history,” with more than $61 billion in capital investment and over 9,500 direct new jobs created.
Louisiana also came in at No. 8 in last year’s Prosperity Cup rankings.
