Forbes

Forbes' annual Best States For Business ranks U.S. states based on measures of six categories relevant to businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. Forbes factors in 40 metrics from 17 sources to determine the ranks across the six main areas. The overall scores are based on a combination of ranks in the six main categories.

Hurricane Harvey is the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Charley hit southwestern Florida in 2004. The damage and loss from Harvey won’t be known for several days but it is expected to be extensive. The hope right now is that the expectations are wrong and the destruction will be less than feared. But even if those hopes are crushed and Harvey turns out to be worse than expected, it won’t be as bad as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.