Greatest States to Begin a Small Enterprise in 2024

As a report variety of companies opened final yr, Lendio reveals the highest states to start out a small enterprise. 

2023 was a record-breaking yr for small companies as a record-breaking 5.5 million new enterprise functions have been filed in 2023, in line with the Small Enterprise Administration.

The 2020s have been one of the difficult historic a long time for small enterprise house owners. The financial influence of the worldwide pandemic continues to ripple via the American and international economies. Inflation, excessive rates of interest, and the unprecedented migration of educated staff to new places have been just some of the challenges that small companies face. Amid such paradigm shifts in how—and the place—Individuals work and dwell, Lendio commissioned this examine to see the state of the small enterprise panorama throughout the nation.

Key Findings

We explored tendencies in ten metrics which are essential to the success of small enterprise house owners in 2024’s quickly altering and unsure panorama. These metrics included small enterprise lending, price of residing, actual property information, educated employee migration, company tax charges, state-level incentives for enterprise house owners, and extra. Our key findings embody:

• Prime states – Florida, Texas, and North Carolina rank high in our record on account of decrease taxes, an inflow of movers to those states, adequate enterprise funding, and better quantities of non-public consumption expenditures.
• Backside states – Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Nebraska are the underside three states, on account of low enterprise funding and enterprise capital availability, restricted native incentive packages, excessive tax charges, and excessive price of residing.  
• Rating shifts – Whereas the states that made the highest 10 stayed the identical from Lendio’s 2023 evaluation, there have been some shifts within the line-up together with Florida edging out Texas for the highest spot.
• Rating components – The states that rank highest are those who skilled giant influxes of migration, with cheap prices of residing. The supply of enterprise funding, enterprise capital, and native incentive packages have been additionally necessary components that impacted the rankings. 

Prime 10 greatest states to start out a small enterprise.

10. Oklahoma (Beforehand 7)

This state boasts a few of the most favorable native incentives within the nation for enterprise house owners, with 84 creative packages in whole. Housing costs and price of residing are decrease, in comparison with different states. Mixed with a low, 4% company earnings tax fee, this creates an surroundings many entrepreneurs will discover enticing. On the flip aspect, companies in Oklahoma have lower-than-average entry to capital and have seen a decline in educated staff transferring to that state.

9. Utah (Beforehand 10)

Companies within the state of Utah have distinctive entry to capital. Utah is accredited for the best variety of SBA loans per 100,000 inhabitants within the U.S. It additionally had $10,000 in VC funding per $1 million GDP, rating No.10 within the U.S. in 2023. The state additionally has a decrease company tax fee of 5% and affords 34 tax incentives to small companies. The rationale Utah didn’t rank greater on our record is that it has turn into an more and more widespread vacation spot, and in consequence, housing prices have elevated considerably.

8. Massachusetts (Beforehand 4)

It’s no marvel tech-savvy Massachusetts will get essentially the most quantity of enterprise capital disbursed per $1 million of GDP, rating No. 1 within the U.S. The state affords 73 completely different incentives for enterprise house owners. Massachusetts companies even have one of many highest five-year survival charges of 57%. On the flip aspect, it has one of many highest median housing values within the U.S., and it’s seeing extra folks leaving (57,000)—relatively than transferring to—the Bay State.

7. Georgia (Beforehand 9)

Georgia can be a fantastic place for companies, as it’s inside the high states with essentially the most small enterprise loans accredited—over 30 small enterprise loans per 100,000 residents via Lendio’s market. Georgia has seen an inflow of 81,406 folks transfer in, making it the sixth-best state on this essential class. Though the housing costs stay cheap, Georgia has the second-highest development in price of residing. 

6. Ohio (Beforehand 3)

Ohio has no company earnings tax fee. Even with the state’s gross receipt tax fee, which isn’t strictly similar to the company earnings tax fee, it’s nonetheless thought-about a low-tax state. Ohio can be among the many high states that have small enterprise loans accredited per 100k residents. With very low housing prices and good native incentive packages for companies, Ohio is an effective place for small companies to settle. 

5. South Carolina (Beforehand 8)

Half of all startups within the Palmetto State have survived a minimum of 5 years, and the state authorities affords 77 completely different incentives for small enterprise house owners—solely three states provide extra incentives than South Carolina. The state has a low 5% company earnings tax fee. As well as, housing costs and price of residing are among the many lowest of all states, and 84,030 folks moved in in 2022, making it the 4th-hottest place to relocate. 

4. Colorado (Beforehand 6)

In case you are in Colorado, you could have a very good probability to land a small enterprise mortgage. Colorado ranks No. 7 within the U.S. for issuance of small enterprise loans, with 27 small enterprise loans per 100,000 residents. It additionally has the seventh highest quantity of enterprise capital per $1 million GDP. With 55,768 educated staff transferring right here and a 4% company earnings tax fee, enterprise house owners can discover a good place to start out a small enterprise. 

3. North Carolina (Beforehand 5)

North Carolina has been a sizzling place for in-migration, with 99,796 folks relocating there in 2022 (the third highest within the U.S.). Companies right here have an above-average, five-year survival fee. The state additionally has a low company tax fee of two.5% and above-average entry to enterprise loans. With low housing prices, enterprise house owners discover it a horny location to start out and run a small enterprise. 

2. Texas (Beforehand 1)

Texas ranks because the second-best state for small companies. Whereas Texans obtain a decrease quantity of SBA mortgage approvals/100K residents than different states, they have been the seventh highest state for loans supplied via Lendio’s market. Of all companies began in 2017 within the state, greater than half survived 5 years of operations, outlasting these in lots of different states. Based on Census Bureau information, over 400,000 folks with a minimum of some school schooling moved into Texas in 2022, making it a primary location for educated entrepreneurs to unfold their wings. Past simply staff, Texas has turn into one of the widespread locations for Individuals to relocate—thanks, partially, to its lack of a state earnings tax.

1. Florida (Beforehand 2)

Florida is one of the best state to start out a enterprise on account of a low company tax fee (5.5%) and the mass migration of shoppers and corporations to the state. The Sunshine State sees greater than half of its startup companies survive for a minimum of 5 years. It’s additionally a high recipient of SBA mortgage {dollars} (twelfth in comparison with different states) and ranked 2nd for the variety of mortgage affords facilitated via Lendio’s market.

State	Rank	5-year survival charges	SBA per 100K	Lendio market loans per 100K	VC Per $1M GDP	Ingenious packages	Company earnings tax charges	Educated employee mobility	Inhabitants development	Median housing prices	Private consumption expenditures
Florida	1	50.80%	23.17	37.1	$6,087	41	5.5%	2,130.62	318,855.00	$354,100	$1,041,880
Texas	2	52.70%	14.31	24.0	$4,662	39		1,312.58	230,961.00	$275,400	$1,302,566
North Carolina	3	53%	12.70	19.4	$6,891	32	2.5%	1,700.80	99,796.00	$280,600	$468,160
Colorado	4	49.90%	26.93	25.0	$12,747	38	4%	2,365.96	5,376.00	$531,100	$292,092
South Carolina	5	50.60%	13.19	20.2	$2,234	77	5.0%	2,099.73	84,030.00	$254,600	$224,912
Ohio	6	53%	31.91	12.5	$4,320	54		888.06	-9,165.00	$204,100	$529,179
Georgia	7	49%	17.00	31.0	$2,973	49	6%	1,592.28	81,406.00	$297,400	$465,205
Massachusetts	8	56.70%	23.34	11.8	$32,800	73	8.0%	1,575.66	-57,292.00	$534,700	$353,182
Utah	9	50.50%	33.06	23.4	$10,705	34	5%	1,356.89	12,898.00	$499,500	$148,611
Oklahoma	10	51.20%	12.24	12.0	$1,242	84	4.0%	1,255.80	26,791.00	$191,700	$164,074
Virginia	11	56.50%	12.31	15.0	$5,089	63	6.0%	1,836.04	-23,952.00	$365,700	$381,395
Michigan	12	55%	26.18	13.5	$2,122	42	6.0%	828.14	-8,482.00	$224,400	$457,968
Connecticut	13	51.10%	23.06	14.0	$10,277	65	7.5%	2,015.19	-13,547.00	$347,200	$177,408
Pennsylvania	14	54.20%	16.68	13.9	$5,471	81	8%	1,024.34	-39,957.00	$245,500	$623,920
New York	15	49.90%	21.94	17.3	$15,344	69	7%	996.22	-299,557.00	$400,400	$923,029
North Dakota	16	51%	17.60	10.1	$1,107	65	3%	1,470.04	-2,710.00	$243,100	$39,866
Wyoming	17	48%	14.04	39.7	$16,150	21		2,022.58	2,152.00	$292,300	$28,567
Arizona	18	49.60%	17.22	22.8	$3,230	23	4.9%	2,149.83	70,984.00	$402,800	$318,201
Alaska	19	57.30%	18.41	10.9	$1,813	31	5.3%	2,303.09	-6,126.00	$336,900	$36,682
Maine	20	53.20%	28.87	10.4	$1,304	44	7%	1,697.54	11,600.00	$290,600	$66,048
California	21	53.80%	18.71	26.7	$28,232	47	9%	976.00	-343,230.00	$715,900	$1,802,396
Minnesota	22	57.60%	31.02	8.6	$5,069	47	9.8%	1,100.50	-19,400.00	$314,600	$266,445
Vermont	23	50.30%	25.33	7.3	$13,481	44	7.2%	1,971.23	1,141.00	$304,700	$30,746
Arkansas	24	49.20%	10.50	10.4	$1,861	60	2.7%	1,260.02	18,209.00	$179,800	$128,037
Montana	25	54.30%	16.60	13.2	$4,504	49	7%	2,159.93	16,003.00	$366,400	$55,649
Delaware	26	48.10%	19.58	20.3	$27,235	29	8.7%	2,339.11	11,826.00	$337,200	$48,856
Nevada	27	47.10%	20.94	36.3	$5,492	24		2,184.69	20,781.00	$434,700	$144,682
Washington	28	49%	19.37	17.3	$11,651	45		2,079.71	-3,580.00	$569,500	$345,506
Kansas	29	46.50%	15.34	10.7	$3,619	71	5.0%	1,494.93	-7,409.00	$206,600	$129,618
Indiana	30	53.10%	18.77	9.8	$2,091	30	4.9%	933.87	5,230.00	$208,700	$298,717
Illinois	31	55.10%	17.95	17.7	$10,768	41	9.5%	1,095.35	-141,656.00	$251,600	$581,884
Tennessee	32	53.10%	9.51	17.4	$2,604	28	6.5%	1,607.83	81,646.00	$284,800	$306,354
Mississippi	33	52.10%	11.43	15.3	$616	43	4.5%	952.62	-5,716.00	$162,500	$115,115
Maryland	34	49%	15.57	15.8	$5,731	98	8%	1,518.50	-45,101.00	$398,100	$266,490
West Virginia	35	57.10%	9.10	8.1	$424	55	6.5%	956.91	474.00	$155,100	$76,209
New Mexico	36	48.10%	11.21	15.3	$2,294	53	5.4%	1,743.17	-4,504.00	$243,100	$86,746
Idaho	37	47.80%	27.28	13.2	$3,694	29	5.8%	1,906.12	28,639.00	$432,500	$79,171
Missouri	39	44.60%	15.95	13.6	$2,162	46	4.0%	1,202.00	5,024.00	$221,200	$284,035
Rhode Island	38	49.80%	22.35	10.7	$3,221	51	7.0%	2,034.10	-5,196.00	$383,900	$47,550
Iowa	40	53.80%	10.60	8.5	$1,106	61	6.3%	969.28	-7,292.00	$194,600	$141,784
South Dakota	41	56.10%	21.43	8.3	$88	22		1,384.72	8,424.00	$245,000	$43,659
Louisiana	42	52.80%	9.71	19.9	$1,111	41	5.5%	828.27	-46,672.00	$209,200	$197,317
Alabama	43	54%	9.08	16.1	$1,031	30	6.5%	1,207.25	28,609.00	$200,900	$211,183
New Jersey	44	49.50%	25.14	18.1	$2,787	42	7.7%	1,402.75	-64,231.00	$428,900	$440,925
Kentucky	45	52.20%	10.21	7.8	$525	46	5.0%	1,125.15	10,420.00	$196,300	$192,315
Wisconsin	46	51.90%	19.40	7.5	$2,950	52	7.9%	1,003.75	7,657.00	$252,800	$271,111
Oregon	47	52.20%	19.25	13.3	$3,599	48	7.1%	1,665.08	-17,331.00	$475,600	$178,845
Nebraska	48	50.90%	16.48	11.0	$3,042	37	6%	1,217.16	-4,270.00	$232,400	$93,515
New Hampshire	49	46%	32.81	12.1	$5,769	19	7.5%	2,106.27	6,303.00	$384,700	$67,943
Hawaii	50	50.40%	11.22	15.1	$654	21	5.4%	2,228.98	-15,212.00	$820,100	$61,198

Remaining Ideas

The state the place what you are promoting operates has a direct influence in your means to successfully run your organization. As an entrepreneur, you get to resolve which of those components issues most to you. 

Florida constantly carried out within the high tier for enterprise house owners, incomes it a No. 1 spot for its high small enterprise mortgage {dollars}, mass migrations of educated staff and shoppers, and cheap tax charges. In the meantime, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Hawaii ranked final, partially due to their excessive prices of residing and housing, fewer incentive packages for companies, and fewer staff with bachelor’s levels than many different states.

Wherever you’re employed, every state presents alternatives and challenges. Navigate these components efficiently and you may run a aggressive, impactful enterprise. Do the precise analysis. Resolve which standards matter most. Ensure you’ve bought the capital to construct your desires. Then tackle calculated threat to start out one thing nice with services that profit all of us.

Methodology

We used publicly obtainable information from quite a lot of federal authorities and nonprofit sources to determine one of the best and worst states for small companies in 2024. We used a Z-score distribution to scale every metric relative to the imply throughout all 50 states. Outliers have been decreased to a rating of two or -2. Total, we examined ten components together with: 

Sources:

Notice: Along with common earnings taxes, many states impose different taxes on firms, comparable to gross receipts taxes and franchise taxes. Some states additionally impose an alternate minimal tax and particular charges on monetary establishments. Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Washington don’t have a company earnings tax however do have a gross receipts tax with charges not strictly similar to company earnings tax charges.