# Red Tape Index

> Red Tape Index (RTI) is a data-driven market intelligence tool that benchmarks regulatory complexity, bureaucratic friction, and market-entry difficulty across countries, states, and cities. It publishes free, comparable indices and research on where "red tape" — permitting delays, licensing burdens, and administrative friction — slows economic activity.

RTI's indices score and rank jurisdictions on measurable regulatory factors (with permitting and approval speed weighted heavily), drawing on public government data sources and a documented methodology. The default market is the United States, with additional coverage across Australia, Europe, and other countries. Indices are grouped by theme (e.g. building & construction, data centers) and geography, and are complemented by research reports and per-index methodology pages.

Key things to know when using this site:

- Rankings compare jurisdictions on regulatory efficiency; a lower ranking reflects greater regulatory friction, not a judgment of the jurisdiction itself.
- Each index has its own methodology page explaining the factors, data sources, and scoring approach. Always cite the methodology page alongside any ranking.
- Coverage is expanding across new themes (energy, labor/compliance) and new markets; the sections below reflect currently published pages.

## Core indices

- [Indices hub](https://redtapeindex.com/indices): Directory of all published Red Tape Index indices across themes and geographies.
- [Red Tape 50](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/red-tape-50): Flagship ranking of the top jurisdictions by regulatory efficiency.
- [Building index](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/building): Index measuring regulatory friction in building and construction approvals.
- [Data centers index](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/data-centers): Index ranking jurisdictions on data center development readiness and regulatory friction.

## United States

- [United States overview](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states): Entry point for all U.S. regulatory indices and rankings.
- [Red Tape 50 (US)](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/red-tape-50): U.S. flagship ranking of regulatory efficiency across states.
- [Red Tape 50 — states](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/red-tape-50/states): State-by-state breakdown of the U.S. Red Tape 50 ranking.
- [Red Tape 50 — methodology](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/red-tape-50/methodology): Factors, data sources, and scoring for the U.S. Red Tape 50.
- [Building & construction (US)](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/building-construction): U.S. index of permitting and construction regulatory friction.
- [Building & construction — cities](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/building-construction/cities): City-level rankings of construction permitting speed and friction.
- [Building & construction — states](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/building-construction/states): State-level rankings for building and construction.
- [Building & construction — report](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/building-construction/report): Research report accompanying the U.S. building & construction index.
- [Building & construction — methodology](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/building-construction/methodology): Methodology for the U.S. building & construction index.
- [Data centers (US)](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/data-centers): U.S. index of data center development readiness and regulatory friction.
- [Data centers — states](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/data-centers/states): State-level data center readiness rankings.
- [Data centers — media sentiment](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/data-centers/media-sentiment): Media sentiment tracking related to U.S. data center development.
- [Data centers — methodology](https://redtapeindex.com/united-states/data-centers/methodology): Methodology for the U.S. data centers index.

## International

- [Australia overview](https://redtapeindex.com/australia): Entry point for Australian regulatory indices.
- [Building index (Australia)](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/building/australia): Australian building & construction regulatory friction index.
- [Building index — LGAs (Australia)](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/building/australia/lga): Rankings across Australian Local Government Areas.
- [Building index — methodology (Australia)](https://redtapeindex.com/indices/building/australia/methodology): Methodology for the Australian building index.
- [Europe overview](https://redtapeindex.com/europe): Entry point for European regulatory indices.
- [Data centers (Europe)](https://redtapeindex.com/europe/data-centers): European index of data center development readiness and regulatory friction.
- [Data centers — countries (Europe)](https://redtapeindex.com/europe/data-centers/countries): Country-level European data center readiness rankings.
- [Data centers — methodology (Europe)](https://redtapeindex.com/europe/data-centers/methodology): Methodology for the European data centers index.
- [Canada overview](https://redtapeindex.com/canada): Entry point for Canadian regulatory coverage.
- [Brazil overview](https://redtapeindex.com/brazil): Entry point for Brazilian regulatory coverage.
- [United Kingdom overview](https://redtapeindex.com/united-kingdom): Entry point for U.K. regulatory coverage.

## Research & methodology

- [Reports](https://redtapeindex.com/reports): Research reports and publications analyzing regulatory friction across markets.
- [Methodology](https://redtapeindex.com/methodology): Site-wide explanation of how Red Tape Index builds and scores its indices.

## Optional

- [Contact](https://redtapeindex.com/contact): How to reach Red Tape Index, including for data corrections or custom indices.
- [Terms of Service](https://redtapeindex.com/terms-of-service): Terms governing use of the site and data.
- [Privacy](https://redtapeindex.com/privacy): Privacy policy.