Forget outsourcing. With jobless rates still topping 10% in California, Nevada and Rhode Island, states are competing fiercely with one another-not just China or India -to retain businesses. In 2011,77% of mass job relocations in the U.S. were interstate, up 5% over 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Translation: the incentives race is heating up. While low corporate rates (see: Alabama and Wyoming) seem like an obvious draw, companies also look at lifestyle and access to markets and talent-one reason high-tax California still shines for tech firms. Meanwhile, low-property-tax states like Oregon are luring computer-server farms to replace job losses in natural resources. Here's how states rank now-though shake-ups could come in New Jersey and Maryland, among others.
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