Texas is no longer a top-five state for business, according to an influential annual study, dimming a source of pride for its politicians.

The state ranked sixth on CNBC’s 2023 America’s Top States for Business, released Tuesday, trailing No. 1 North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Minnesota. It’s the first time Texas has not appeared in the network’s top five since the annual survey began in 2007. It also continues Texas’ slide that began with a fall to second in 2019, to fourth in 2021 and to fifth in 2022. The survey wasn’t conducted in 2020 because of the pandemic......

But the state was dinged for a variety of issues in other categories, including concerns about its power grid, its aging water utilities, skimpy per-pupil school spending, rising housing costs and controversial social policies including one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation and what CNBC called an ongoing “crackdown” on LGBTQ+ rights.

“For all of Texas’ strengths, serious problems are worsening,” CNBC said in a standalone article examining the state’s slide. ....

Compared with 2022, Texas tumbled to 24 from 14 for its infrastructure, to 35 from 21 for education, and to 50 from 49 in CNBC’s life, health, and inclusion ranking, which considers access to health care, crime rates and “culture wars,” among other quality of life issues. Such considerations are an “economic imperative,” CNBC noted in a piece explaining the study’s methodology: “With workers in short supply, companies are seeking to locate in states that can attract a broad array of talent.”