Business Climate Survey, CNBC: North Dakota The Headline Story -- Takes 5th

Link here to Yahoo News.

North Dakota, driven by its expanding oil economy, ranked five in CNBC's sixth annual study, "America's Top States for Business.

The announcement on CNBC's "Squawk Box" is part of the TV network's day-long countdown of the top five states in its exclusive and influential study, ranking the nation's 50 states in 10 competitive categories.

The top state, as well as the complete rankings, will be revealed by the study's creator Scott Cohn on "Closing Bell" at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET.

North Dakota, which tied for 13th in 2011, knocked Colorado from the fifth spot in the 2012 rankings. The state scored high in several categories, including economy. 

Going from 13th to 5th, North Dakota knocked a lot of states down a notch or two.

Of the top ten states, six are in the North Dakota to Texas corridor. Texas is #1.

More at this CNBC video. 

California, not surprisingly, is fortieth.