By Gazette News Services

CHEYENNE – A national survey has named Wyoming one of the top 10 business-friendly states.

Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc., a Chicago-based corporate relocation firm, ranked Wyoming No. 6 in its annual study, “Top Ten Pro-Business States: America’s Economy in the 21st Century.”

Wyoming has been in the survey’s top 10 since the study began in 2004. The study attributes Wyoming’s high ranking to being a right-to-work state with no personal or corporate income taxes and having low operating costs for business.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal said the recognition means that efforts to bolster the state’s business-ready climate are working.

“As we work to improve infrastructure and help prepare our towns and cities for the businesses that we know are coming, frankly, it’s good to know that groups like the one that conducts the Pollina study are paying attention to all that the state has to offer,” he said in a prepared statement.

Virginia was named the most business-friendly state, followed by South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina and Utah.