Did You Know?

Columbia

Columbia ranked No. 38 on NewGeography’s of 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth list. Click here to see the full list.

Columbia ranked No. 9 on the 2013 annual list of the “Most Well-Read Cities in America” compiled by Amazon.com. Click here for more details.

Columbia ranked No. 86 on the 2013 MarketWatch’s Top 100 Cities for Business Growth List. For the complete list of cities, click here.

Columbia ranked No. 66 in America's 102 major markets in terms of 2013 small-business vitality, as calculated by The Business Journals. For the complete list of cities, click here.

Columbia ranked No. 10 among CNBC’s top Ten Most Affordable Cities in the U.S. Click here for to read more.

Columbia, SC was ranked #2 of the Top 25 Metros for High-Tech Employment Growth, 2010-2011 as reported by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. Click here to read the full report.

South Carolina

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List. Click here to see the full list.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Business Environment category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Labor Climate category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 3 in the Overall Infrastructure & Global Access category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Sates Most-Mentioned by Respondents category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Overall Cost of Doing Business category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 3 in the Incentive Programs category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Corporate Tax Environment category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Cooperative State Government category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Speed of Permitting category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Renewed Consideration Post-Recession category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 3 in the Most Favorable Regulatory Environment category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Competitive Labor Costs Environment category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 2 in the Leading Work Force Development Programs category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 1 in the Right-to-Work category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina ranked No. 3 in the Certified Sites/Shovel-Ready Program category of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business 2013 List.

South Carolina is ranked as having the 5th best climate in the country in November 2012 by Corporate Executive readers of Site Selection Magazine.

South Carolina also ranked 8th in the nation for its pro-business environment in 2012 by CNBC.

South Carolina has 46 counties, 32,020 square miles of land, 187 miles of coastline, and more than 4.7 million residents.

The South Carolina Technical College system is comprised of 16 community-based technical colleges throughout the state. The SCTC system serves about 240,000 students and creates programs that cater to the needs of local business and industry.

The Port of Charleston, one of the busiest container ports along the Southeast and Gulf coasts, is recognized as one of the most productive - averaging 41 moves per hour per crane, well above the US port standard of 25 to 27.