Small Business Survival Index — Ranking the States

The “Small Business Survival Index” serves as the most comprehensive measure of the states in terms of which ones offer the most conducive environment for small businesses, and those that make it more difficult for entrepreneurs from a government-cost perspective. The factors included in the Index – taxes, various regulatory costs, government spending, property rights, health care and energy costs, and much more – matter a great deal to the competitiveness of each state and to the well being of small business.

The 2008 Index has been expanded to cover 34 major government-imposed or government-related costs affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs. The measures are added together for an overall rating.

In terms of their policy environments, the most entrepreneur-friendly states under the “Small Business Survival Index 2008″ are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Wyoming, 4) Florida, 5) Washington, 6) Texas, 7) South Carolina, 8 ) Alabama, 9) Virginia, and 10) Colorado. The more difficult state policy environments for entrepreneurs include: 40) West Virginia, 41) Hawaii, 42) Iowa, 43) Vermont, 44) Massachusetts, 45) New York, 46) Minnesota, 47) Rhode Island, 48) Maine, 49) California, 50) New Jersey and 51) District of Columbia.

+ Small Business Survival Index (PDF; 174 KB)

Source: Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 and is filed under Business and Economics, Lists and Rankings, Source File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.