Tucked away in downtown Copperas Cove, Ledger Furniture has been a fixture for 60 years.
Don't look for any sign of a down economy here.
You won't find it in Stephen Branch's store.
"It has kept us strong," Branch says, "Everybody gets paid every two weeks and it keeps the money flowing. Texas just overall has got a good business climate."
A booming business climate helped give Texas the CNBC ranking as the top state in the country for business.
There's other evidence of why the Lone Star State came out on top all around Central Texas with new construction and business everywhere.
"It's a good marketing advantage to us," says Polo Enriquez, Executive Director of the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation, "We are now ranked #1 in the nation as the best place to do business. And we're going to take advantage of what we've worked hard to earn."
The CNBC study points to cost of doing business, available manpower, and the economy.
All are comparatively strong in Central Texas.
But there's another advantage Central Texas has, that other parts of the state and country do not.
"The good thing about Central Texas as compared to the rest of the nation is we have the strongest banks out of anywhere," says Tom Creek, President of the Copperas Cove branch of First State Bank Central Texas, "All the local community banks in Central Texas are strong."
That means more money to lend to businesses, equaling more people and jobs making their way here.
And the people are already coming, because of the reputation Central Texas has built for having jobs available.
"I just moved to the area and I'm trying to find me a job," says Larry Yarbrough.
He just moved to Killeen from Beaumont, because he heard there are jobs available in Killeen.
By moving here, Yarbrough helps make this area more attractive to businesses.
"The more skilled your workforce is, the more likely you are to have employers who have good jobs, who are going to come to the area," says Wendy Ann Riggs, the supervisor of the Career Center at the Central Texas Workforce Center in Killeen, "They want to feed of that talent."
If that creates a job opening feeding frenzy, that will benefit workers in this area.
Killeen Defense Contractor Billy Stephenson says, "I think it's a good business climate. I think it's very competitive, and there's nothing wrong with competition."
It's just a small part of the bigger package Central Texas can offer, that much of the country can not.
Enriquez says,"People take a look at the quality of life. They take a look at our labor force. They take a look at the availability of land."
With all of that, and the CNBC report, the eyes of not only Texas, but the entire country, are upon us.
Those in the business community in Central Texas say the possibilities are endless.
Reporter: Matthew LeBlanc/Photographer: Erin Coker
