Small Business Survival Index 2009 Ranks State Policy Climates for Entrepreneurship

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) today released its 14th annual
rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the
“Small Business Survival Index 2009: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the
Nation.” http://sbecouncil.org/survivalindex2009/.)

SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating, author of the study, said: “It’s hard to find any good news at
the national level for entrepreneurs, small business and their employees. The U.S. economy slipped into a
recession in December 2007, with matters getting far worse late last year. Congress and the White House have
not offered positive solutions to help the job-creating sector. In fact, most of their actions will hurt, not help,
small businesses. But what about the states? The ‘Small Business Survival Index’ helps business owners and
investors understand the public policy burdens placed on entrepreneurship and small business, with the states
ranked accordingly.”

Keating continued: “Policy matters. Most politicians talk a good game when it comes to small business, but
their actions don’t often match their rhetoric. The ‘Small Business Survival Index’ gets at the public policy
costs and trends that affect – directly or indirectly – entrepreneurship and small businesses. These measures
should matter to everyone because small businesses, of course, drive innovation, economic growth and job
creation. If we want to get our economy back on a solid, robust growth track, then we need pro-entrepreneur
policies at the federal, state and local levels.”

The “Small Business Survival Index” is the most comprehensive measure of which states are truly friendly to
small business, and which are not in terms of public policy decisions. 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 2009 Index has been expanded to cover 36 major government-imposed or government-related costs
affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs. The measures are added together for an overall rating. The report
is available at http://www.sbecouncil.org. (Look for the Index icon on the right side of the website’s front page.)
In terms of their policy environments, the Top-Ten entrepreneur-friendly states under the “Small Business
Survival Index 2009” are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Texas, 4) Wyoming, 5) Washington, 6) Florida, 7)
South Carolina, 8) Colorado, 9) Alabama, and 10) Virginia. In contrast, the Bottom-Ten include: 42) Hawaii,
43) Minnesota, 44) Massachusetts, 45) Rhode Island, 46) Maine, 47) Vermont, 48) New York, 49) California,
50) New Jersey and 51) District of Columbia. Complete rankings are found below.

For a copy of the “Small Business Survival Index 2009,” visit SBE Council’s website at http://www.sbecouncil.org.

SBE Council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit small business advocacy group that works to protect small business and
promote entrepreneurship.
Following are the complete state rankings for the “Small Business Survival Index 2009”:
Small Business Survival Index 2009: State Rankings
Rank State SBSI Score

1 South Dakota 25.693

2 Nevada 31.348

3 Texas 32.082

4 Wyoming 37.069

5 Washington 42.955

6 Florida 45.284

7 South Carolina 48.001

8 Colorado 48.250

9 Alabama 48.823

10 Virginia 50.843

11 Ohio 51.250

12 Alaska 51.554

13 Tennessee 51.855

14 Utah 52.404

15 Indiana 52.602

16 Arizona 52.803

17 North Dakota 53.044

18 Missouri 53.277

19 Mississippi 53.439

20 Georgia 53.781

21 Oklahoma 53.868

22 Kentucky 54.877

23 Michigan 55.383

24 Illinois 55.983

25 Arkansas 56.006

26 Kansas 57.813

27 Pennsylvania 57.847

28 New Mexico 58.101

29 Louisiana 58.111

30 Wisconsin 58.800

31 Montana 59.041

32 Idaho 61.705

33 New Hampshire 61.995

34 Nebraska 62.143

35 Delaware 62.775

36 West Virginia 63.689

37 Maryland 64.342

38 Oregon 65.179

39 North Carolina 65.497

40 Connecticut 66.627

41 Iowa 67.485

42 Hawaii 68.454

43 Minnesota 72.149

44 Massachusetts 72.515

45 Rhode Island 73.339

46 Maine 74.699

47 Vermont 75.717

48 New York 76.940

49 California 77.749

50 New Jersey 84.730

51 Dist. of Columbia 84.795

(Please note that the District of Columbia was not included in the studies covering three of the measures
included in the Index, so D.C.’s last place score is actually worse.)