Virginia nabbed the top spot in Associated Builders and Contractors’ “Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard,” which highlights states where merit shop contractors are well positioned to succeed and calls attention to states where strategic improvements need to be made based on their policies on prevailing wage, project labor agreement (PLA) mandates and Right to Work status, as well as their commitment to developing a well-trained workforce, career and technical education opportunities, and public-private partnerships.

Arkansas came in second, moving up from 20th place last year, and Arizona landed in the third spot. Arkansas’ ascent can be attributed to its full repeal of prevailing wage to accompany existing PLA and Right to Work policies. Wisconsin also moved up 10 spots during the past two years due, in part, to the repeal of its prevailing wage law.

Conversely, Illinois, Washington and New York ranked as the three worst environments for merit shop contractors. For a full list of state rankings and more details on criteria and definitions, visit meritshopscorecard.org.