These States Have the Best Rated Economy, Report Says

A new report sheds light on which states are firing on all economic cylinders. 'Utah gets the honor of being the number one rated economy in the country,' said Jonathan Williams, vice president of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the group that compiled the rankings, based in Washington. '[Utah is followed] by North Carolina at number two, North Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona.' Utah and many of those states in the top five have seen significant population growth over the past ten years, Williams said. 'We found a strong trend for Americans going to states that value lower taxes and more competitive environments and they're leaving states like California and New York, which are both down more than 1 million Americans over the last decade,' he added. Aside from taxes, the report gauged a state's property taxes, income taxes, labor policy, minimum wage and regulation when compiling the rankings. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.