Washington ranks No. 9 in a new report on the best states to start a business. The rankings, published by FitSmallBusiness.com, draw on respected national data sources to evaluate states on seven dimensions:
- Access to Capital – Venture capital and small business loans
- Startup Activity – Rate of new entrepreneurs and survivability of business
- Taxes – 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 bachelor degree attainment
- Quality of Life – Access to healthcare, education, and physical safety
- Cost of Starting a Business – Per capita income and commercial rent
The factors receive different weights. Taxes and Labor Market are each weighted 20 percent; Cost of Living, Quality of Life, and Cost of Starting a Business are each assigned 15 percent; Startup Activity gets 10 percent; and Access to Capital received just 5 percent.
Entrepreneurs will no doubt have different assessments of the value of each of the categories. As we’ve written often, we’re skeptical of these kinds of “best places” rankings. But, because others find them of interest and because they often show up in the media, we thought we’d share this latest report with you.
North Carolina, Utah, Texas, Indiana and Montana are the top 5 states, according to the report.
Thoughts?
