Methodology
How the Red Tape 50 aggregates nine state-level dimensions into a single composite performance rank for all 50 US states.
Summary
A composite rank of all 50 states across nine dimensions of build-and-operate performance, published as results (not recomputed client-side).
Overview
How it works
The Red Tape 50 ranks all 50 US states on overall build-and-operate performance. It aggregates nine independent state-level dimensions (fiscal policy, land use, labor, population growth, affordability, infrastructure, cost of business, business friendliness, and approval/permitting velocity) into a single composite rank (the "RTI" column), where 1 is the best-performing state.
Approval/permitting velocity contributes ≈20-25% of the composite; the remaining dimensions carry the balance. The exact weighting is maintained upstream in our data pipeline: the values published on this site are finished results, not figures recomputed in the browser, so no ranking is recalculated client-side.
Each dimension is itself a 1-50 rank of the states on that dimension alone, so a state can lead the composite while placing mid-pack on any individual column. The approval column is reported on the same processing scale as the state map tooltips (lower = faster approvals) rather than as a 1-50 rank.
Indicators
Indicators
Fiscal
Tax and fiscal policy competitiveness. 1 = most competitive tax environment.
Land Use
Zoning and development regulation. 1 = least restrictive land use rules.
Labor
Labor market conditions. 1 = strongest workforce.
Growth
Population growth momentum. 1 = fastest growing.
Affordability
Housing and cost-of-living affordability. 1 = most affordable.
Infrastructure
Roads, transit, and utilities quality. 1 = best infrastructure.
Cost of Business
Operating cost burden. 1 = lowest operating costs.
Business Friendliness
Pro-business regulatory climate. 1 = most business-friendly.
Approval / Permitting
Construction-approval and permitting velocity: the time and friction between site control and groundbreaking. Reported on a processing scale (lower = faster), not a 1-50 rank.
Detail
Versioning & permanence
Each published edition of the Red Tape 50 is identified by an edition tag (currently 2026.07). Prior published values are never removed or overwritten. As new editions are released, earlier results remain available so historical positions stay reproducible.
The general state performance ranking was split out of the Building & Construction permitting index on July 10, 2026. It now lives here at /indices/redtape-50/united-states/states; the former location under Building & Construction (/indices/building/united-states/states) continues to resolve and now presents the state-level permitting detail.
Caveats
Known limitations
- 01The composite is published as finished results; dimension weights are maintained upstream and are not recomputed client-side.
- 02The approval/permitting column uses a processing scale, not a 1-50 rank, and should not be compared directly against the dimension ranks.
- 03Rankings describe state-level conditions; sub-state variation is not separable in the published composite.