Fit Small Business Publishes Comprehensive Ranking of the 50 States
By Sarah Johnson for Fit Small Business
While it may not completely surprise you that North Carolina ranked as the #1 state to start a business, did you know that Massachusetts, Montana, and Michigan ranked in the Top 10?
If you’re an entrepreneur or deciding to start your own business, choosing the right state could mean the difference between success and failure. Fit Small Business compiled publicly available data from heavyweight sources such as the Kauffman Foundation, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Small Business Administration, and analyzed it in order to give you a definitive and comprehensive ranking of the best states to start a business.
In addition, Fit Small Business also lists the top city in each state to start a business. You’ll find the complete list here.
“This index is, by far, the most comprehensive list available, and the findings, in many instances, will greatly surprise you,” says David Waring, Editor-in-chief, Fit Small Business. “We based our methodology on 24 metrics across seven categories and then analyzed the data to determine the weights for those categories.”
Top 10 best states to start a business:
|
State |
City |
|
|
1. |
North Carolina |
Raleigh |
|
2. |
Utah |
Salt Lake City |
|
3. |
Texas |
Austin |
|
4. |
Indiana |
Blufton |
|
5. |
Montana |
Billings |
|
6. |
Missouri |
Creve Coeur |
|
7. |
Michigan |
Auburn Hills |
|
8. |
New Hampshire |
Manchester |
|
9. |
Washington |
Redmond |
|
10. |
Massachusetts |
Cambridge |
In ranking each state, Fit Small Business selected seven categories that significantly influence an entrepreneur’s chances of surviving and thriving. These categories include:
- Access to capital — Venture capital and small business loans
- Startup activity — Rate of new entrepreneurs and survivability of business
- Business tax climate — Corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment insurance tax, and property tax
- Cost of living — Grocery, housing, utilities, transportation and health
- Labor market — Location desirability, and number of bachelor degrees
- Quality of life — Access to healthcare, education, to physical safety
- Cost of starting a business — Per capita income and commercial rent
About Fit Small Business: With a rapidly growing monthly readership of 800,000. Fit Small Business is an online publication devoted to helping small business owners. Its full-time staff of writers spends hours of research, data analysis, and interviews with industry experts to answer the questions that owners want in order to run a successful small business.
