State Ranking & Economic Factors - Massachusetts surges 18 spots in ranking after a previous drop of 23 places [1] - Massachusetts is the second most expensive state to do business in and one of the least business-friendly [2] - The state is among the least dependent on a shrinking federal government, which helps insulate its economy [2] Research Funding & Challenges - Massachusetts is a major recipient of federal research grants, which are under fire by the Trump administration [2] - The state passed $1 billion for life sciences and climate technology research [2] - State funding may not compensate for potential loss of federal research dollars [3]

CNBC out with its annual rankings for America's top states for business. And North Carolina takes the crown for the third time in four years, but there were also some big pops and drops for other states. And Scott Con joins us with some of the reasons why.Hi, Scott. Hi, Kelly. Yeah, it's a year of change.We've talked about this for weeks now uh as we look at the economy and and uh the concerns about federal budget cuts and the like. And so that did jumble up our ratings so much uh somewhat. Let's take a loo ...