Washington does not fare well in the latest business climate survey conducted by Chief Executive magazine. The state comes in No. 36, between Maine and Rhode Island. The top ten are unsurprising: Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Arizona, Virginia, South Carolina, Nevada and Georgia. At the bottom of the list are Illinois, New York and last place California.

Earlier I commented on recent criticisms of business climate rankings by policy groups. Chief Executive magazine uses a survey methodology.

736 CEOs—the highest response on record—rendered their verdict. Business leaders were asked to grade states with which they are familiar on a variety of competitive metrics that CEOs themselves regard as critical. These include: 1) taxation and regulation; 2) quality of workforce; and 3) living environment. The tax and regulatory grade includes a measure of how CEOs grade a state’s attitude toward business, a key indicator.

On the magazine’s 5 star ranking scheme, Washington received 2 stars for taxation and regulation, 3-1/2 stars for workforce and 3-1/2 for living environment.

In an accompanying article, the magazine’s editor observes that states are becoming more aggressive in competing with one another.

The federal government may be a tax reform wasteland but the states are out there competing with gloves off. Nine states, including top-ranked places like Texas, Florida and Tennessee have no income tax. Oklahoma and Kansas have lowered theirs. Indiana Governor Mike Pence has called for a 10 percent cut. The governors of New Mexico, Nebraska and North Carolina have prioritized tax reform. Then there’s Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, who wants to eliminate his state’s corporate tax and replace it by raising the state’s current 4 percent sales tax. Louisiana has come a long way since 2006 when it ranked 47th.

While the magazine’s rankings amount, simply, to the perceptions of business leaders, perceptions matter. So do costs.