Ranking the Best States for Entrepreneurs, And The Worst

Two out of every five working Americans say they’d rather own their own business, but which U.S. states offer the best conditions for these entrepreneurs?

A new survey by personal finance website GOBankingRates found that while Washington, Wyoming and California are the best states for entrepreneurs, West Virginia, Hawaii and South Carolina are the least-friendly states for new business.

To see how well each state fosters new business, GOBankingRates’ investigated the startup opportunities and existing small businesses in each state, along with how startup-friendly each state’s business climate and economy is to determine the best and worst states for entrepreneurs for 2015.

To see how each state ranks and read the complete survey findings, go to: http://www.gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/10-best-worst-states-entrepreneurs/.

“Any entrepreneur who has the flexibility to set up shop where he or she chooses should certainly consider doing so in one of the 10 states we found that help small businesses thrive,” said Cameron Huddleston, GOBankingRates’ Life + Money columnist. “There are plenty of factors in each of these states that boost the chances of success.”

High Costs of Living: No. 2 worst state for entrepreneurs, Hawaii, has the highest cost of living in the nation and is burdened by high business taxes, making it difficult for new business owners to thrive.

Local Business Climate: Wyoming ranked as the No. 2 best state for entrepreneurs due to the its high per-capita GDP, availability of employees, and state small business loans, which all contribute to a healthy climate for new businesses.

Higher Education: California, Massachusetts and Delaware, all of which rank on the “best” list for entrepreneurs, boast higher college education metrics with greater percentages of students graduating from university.

Best States for Entrepreneurs:

1. Washington

2. Wyoming

3. California

4. Colorado

5. Oregon

6. Texas

7. Delaware

8. Massachusetts

9. Montana

10. Missouri

Worst States for Entrepreneurs:

1. West Virginia

2. Hawaii

3. South Carolina

4. Pennsylvania

5. Virginia

6. Maryland

7. Vermont

8. Arkansas

9. Rhode Island

10. Alabama