Best & Worst States to Start a Business (2024)

Starting a business is never easy. About one-fifth of all startups typically don’t survive past year one of operation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and nearly half never make it to their fifth anniversary. Staying afloat is difficult even under normal conditions, and even more so when dealing with high inflation and labor shortages.

Outside of the currently difficult economic conditions, there are plenty of other reasons that startups fail, with a “bad location” being among the most common. Choosing the right state for a business is therefore crucial to its success. A state that provides the ideal conditions for business creation — access to cash, skilled workers and affordable office space, for instance — can help new ventures not only take off but also thrive.

In this study, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 25 key indicators of startup success to determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise.

Adam McCann, WalletHub