If you google “unemployment rates by state” you’ll see that the healthiest ten states, all with unemployment rates under 7%, are inevitably low tax, business-welcoming states (with the exception of Hawaii). That’s where I’d put my money.
That is good in theory but can be difficult in practice. Investing in companies that do business in those areas is probably a very good option. Going back to Texas (a place I know well), investing in property can be very tricky. Property taxes are very high in any good neighborhood (yes, even in “low tax” Texas), maintenance costs are high (lots of rain, lots of wind, lots of termites, plants and weeds grow unbelievably fast), and since homeownership rates are high, renters are often subpar citizens. Add to this the problem that few geographic boundaries exist to stop sprawling development, and investing in houses becomes a losing proposition. As I wrote earlier, the sprawl grows towards the farmland of the politically well-connected. Any property that will become developed anytime soon is already priced accordingly. And since all things being equal, people always prefer new homes to older ones (especially in Texas), any homes you own are at a disadvantage. This is compounded by the problem that employment centers constantly shift over time towards the property holdings of the good old boys network. Today’s “good” neighborhood in most parts of Texas is likely to be a marginal one in 20 years. There are a few exceptions, notably those areas near the top universities (UT in Austin, Rice in Houston, SMU/TCU in D/FW). However those properties already command a premium, and in high-property-tax, high-energy-cost, and high-maintenance-cost Texas, that makes carrying costs prohibitive in many cases. Caveat emptor.
Again, I do agree that business investments in the southeast are a good area to look into. But I also expect this for states that border Mexico, especially business catering to the lower middle class which is growing by the day as the rest of the middle class shifts downward.