Hartselle is the 15th friendliest city for business in the state, according to the Alabama Policy Institute.

The Alabama Policy Institute collected data on Alabama’s 50 most populous cities and ranked them based on criteria that ensure business success and protect the entrepreneurial spirit.

The 11-20 rankings will be released on Monday by Yellow Hammer Politics blog, which teamed up with Alabama Policy Institute to produce the rankings.

Hartselle ranks just behind 14th place Madison and just ahead of 16th place Foley, 17th place Muscle Shoals and 18th ranked Cullman. Decatur ranked 37th out of 50 Alabama cities.

The overall rankings are based on four categories: economic vitality, business tax burden, community allure and transportation infrastructure.

Hartselle’s ranking is an improvement from 2012, when Hartselle came in 26th. Decatur was 34th a year ago.

The best ranking for Hartselle was in community allure, where it ranked second. Hartselle had a slightly lower violent crime rate and marginally lower education scores than Prattville, which took the top spot in the category.

This is the second straight year that Hartselle ranked second in community allure category.

Hartselle also ranked 18th in business tax burden and 28th in transportation infrastructure, both of which were identical to the previous year.

However, the city saw a an improvement in economic vitality, going from 43rd to 34th.

Fairhope was ranked the friendliest city for business in the state followed by Millbrook, Athens, Daphne and Jasper. The least business friendly cities in the state were Talladega, Birmingham, Anniston, Prichard and Selma.