New Study Reveals Best and Worst States and Cities for Small Businesses

A recently released study sheds light on the best states for small business. Thumbtack, a marketplace that connects contract and freelance professionals with businesses across the U.S., ranked states based on feedback from more than 18,000 small business owners. Factors rated include local laws regulating small businesses, perceived “friendliness” of the area by business owners, taxes, and more.

Read on for the top states!

The Friendly States

Utah, Texas, and New Hampshire received top marks for overall state friendliness to small business.

The Friendly CitIes

Many friendly cities are, as to be expected, in friendly states. But there are a few surprises here!

Manchester, NH

Dallas, TX

Richmond, VA

Austin, TX

Knoxville, TN

Nashville, TN

Houston, TX

Easiest States to Start a New Business

Texas, New Hampshire, Colorado, Idaho, Virginia, Kansas, and Oklahoma all received “A+” ratings in this category.

Easiest Cities to Start a New Business

Again, most of the top cities in this category are in top states.

Manchester, NH

Dallas, TX

Richmond, VA

Austin, TX

Knoxville, TN

Nashville, TN

Houston, TX

Boulder, CO

Oklahoma City, OK

Virginia Beach, VA

Boise, ID

Kansas City, MO

Colorado Springs, CO

Easiest State to Hire In

Here’s where results start to look a little different–only Kansas received an A+ in this category.

Easiest Cities to Hire In

More surprising winners in this category!

Richmond, VA

Birmingham, AL

Raleigh, NC

Syracuse, NY

Omaha , NE

Learn more and see how your area ranks over at Thumbtack. Tell us: do you agree with the survey’s assessment of your home state?

You may not be able to change big trends, like ease of hiring or overall friendliness of your state to small businesses, but you can make running and managing your business simpler, fast. Contact us to learn more about security and time tracking solutions catered to small business budgets and needs.