For the ninth consecutive year, Louisiana ranks No. 1 among Southern states for attracting the most significant capital investments and job creation projects per one million people in 2016.
The ranking, produced annually by Southern Business & Development, tracks economic development projects across the south. States earn more points for projects that create 200 or more jobs or are valued at $30-plus million.
Louisiana won 57 job creation and investment projects last year. While the state was tops in the South for per-capita wins, the magazine named Texas as its 2017 State of the Year.
Also, Baton Rouge finished eighth in the Major Markets category with 75 points, and Lake Charles claimed the magazine’s designation as Small Market of the Year for the fifth-straight year.
Ochsner Clinic Foundation’s expansion in Jefferson Parish also was recognized as one of the publication’s top job-creating projects while Tellurian’s $11.8 billion LNG project in Calcasieu Parish and Venture Global $8.5 billion LNG project in Plaquemines topping the list of investments. Â
