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Entrepreneur Friendly States 2024
Texas
Texas will always find itself on a list that is related to business ownership and entrepreneurial ventures. The lone star state has always deviated from the crowd to do its own thing, and this is reflected in the culture and the population. The people are hard-working, industrious, and innovative. Texas has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and more than 6% of annual economic growth. The sheer size of Texas has made it attractive to a diverse number of people, meaning that there is a large demand for goods and services in every county.
The capital city of Austin has over 6000 new startups and houses some of the largest headquarters and corporate offices for even the largest conglomerates in the world, such as Apple and Google. While the economic growth has been more than good, the land size of Texas has kept home affordability high and enjoys one of the largest spikes in home ownership in the last few years. Compared to other big states, Texas is one of the most cost-effective places to conduct commerce.
Finally, Texas is the only one of two states (Maryland) that bases its reporting fees on the gross annual revenue that the business generates. The economic environment is made much more amenable as compared to the flat fee rate in other states.
Michigan
Michigan has a high survival rate for new businesses, with over a third of businesses making it to their tenth birthday. This is surprising, as most businesses are said to fail within the first five years. Depending on the concerns of the nature of the business, ten years is a very long period. The creation of the business is affordable, as Michigan has a low business formation entry fee and a statewide economic growth of nearly 5 and a half percent per annum. Detroit, its biggest city, has a surprisingly low cost of living when compared to other urban areas of its size, despite it being an extremely popular place that welcomes innovation.
Michigan has a very well-educated workforce, which is a compliment to its survival rate. The businesses that do survive do not do so because they were the strongest, but because their goods and services were pivoted in such a way that the business continued to work long enough t gain traction. The solid infrastructure and access to energy make it ideal for entrepreneurs.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a surprising addition to the list, as the Pelican State has some of the "easiest" access to an entrepreneurial community. The low labor costs are an attractive lubricant for migrating entrepreneurs, but it does change the entire meaning of entrepreneurship in the state. While the modest cost of living and low labor costs may indeed be a welcoming sight, the population has an abundance of unskilled labor. This means that Louisiana will have some hidden gems, but favors entrepreneurs that already have a powerful system in place for educating and training their employees, contractors, and freelancers.
State | Total Score | Rank | Business Costs | Business Climate | Financial Accessibility | Economy | Workforce | Weighted Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 100 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 32 |
| Colorado | 98 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
| North Dakota | 96 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| Pennsylvania | 94 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 30 |
| South Dakota | 92 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 29 |
| North Carolina | 90 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 29 |
| Montana | 88 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 29 |
| Illinois | 86 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 29 |
| Ohio | 84 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 29 |
| Delaware | 82 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 28 |
| Connecticut | 80 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 28 |
| California | 78 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 27 |
| Massachusetts | 76 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 27 |
| New Hampshire | 74 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 27 |
| Missouri | 71 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
| Mississippi | 69 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| Hawaii | 67 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| Virginia | 65 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 25 |
| South Carolina | 63 | 19 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 61 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| Utah | 59 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
| Idaho | 57 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| Rhode Island | 55 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| West Virginia | 53 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Washington | 51 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 24 |
| Alabama | 49 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| New Jersey | 47 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 23 |
| Arizona | 45 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 23 |
| Arkansas | 43 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Georgia | 41 | 30 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 23 |
| Alaska | 39 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 23 |
| Nebraska | 37 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| Minnesota | 35 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 22 |
| Texas | 33 | 34 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 22 |
| Iowa | 31 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 22 | |
| Wyoming | 29 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| Louisiana | 27 | 37 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| Maine | 25 | 38 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
| Maryland | 22 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| Tennessee | 20 | 40 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| Kansas | 18 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
| Oklahoma | 16 | 42 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| Kentucky | 14 | 43 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
| Nevada | 12 | 44 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
| Florida | 10 | 45 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| Oregon | 8 | 46 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Michigan | 6 | 47 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 19 | |
| Vermont | 4 | 48 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 17 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 49 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| New York | 50 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 16 |