Chief Executive magazine's annual "Best & Worst States" survey once again singled out North Carolina as the second best state to do business.

"A handful of states have made business-friendly policies a priority," says J.P. Donlon, Editor-in-Chief of Chief Executive magazine and ChiefExecutive.net. "These forward-thinking states are the exception rather than the rule and include Utah, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma."

Florida rose three positions to third place, leaping over Tennessee, which slipped one slot from last year to number four. Georgia climbed two positions to fifth place.

New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Michigan rounded out the bottom five, according to the survey.

Chief Executive magazine surveyed 550 CEOs who evaluated the states on a broad range of issues, including regulations, tax policies, workforce quality, education resources, quality of living and infrastructure.

This year's biggest gains were Wisconsin, which moved up 17 positions, Louisiana, which climbed 13 positions, and Indiana, which moved up 10 places.

On the other hand, the biggest losers were Alaska, which lost 10 positions, West Virginia, which moved down 8 slots and Pennsylvania, down 7.