Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont most expensive manufacturing states

Despite its lack of sales tax, manufacturing prices in New Hampshire are among the highest of any state in the U.S.

According to a recent study from the University of Connecticut, entitled "High Wages, Low Costs: A Connecticut Paradox?," New England is the priciest region of the country to in which to manufacture. In fact, the three most expensive states for manufacturers are Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

The study found that it costs 93.5 cents to manufacture a dollar's worth of goods in the Granite State. The single most expensive state in which to manufacture is Vermont, at 95.9 cents, and Rhode Island came in third at 93 cents. Comparatively, on a national scale, the average cost to produce one dollar of goods is 83.3 cents.

Oregon ranks as the least expensive state for manufacturing, at 70.6 cents.

Even so, the businesses climate in these pricey states isn't too terrible. New Hampshire saw a 1.43 percent increase in employment between 2009 and 2010 - the second-highest in the nation, after Kentucky.