Texas tops the rankings in Simplify LLC’s study on the Best States for Entrepreneurs in 2024. The study was based on the most recent data from the Census Bureau, BEA, and Federation of Tax Administrators, from 2021 to 2023.
Simplify said that six key factors were analyzed in all 50 states and D.C., including corporate tax rate, inflation, migration of educated workers, new business formations, job creation, and consumer spending.
Key findings that led to Texas’ nation-leading ranking include the state having no corporate tax rate, while being buoyed by its strong influx of educated workers, including a net gain nearly 76,000 college-educated adults in 2022. The Lone Star State was also cited for its new business growth of 23.7% in the year ending November 2023.
The study found the 10 best states for entrepreneurs are—from No. 1 to No. 10—Texas, Florida, Wyoming, Missouri, Delaware, South Dakota, Kansas, Washington, Utah, and Indiana. Louisiana was ranked the worst state in the study.
Entrepreneurism on the rise
Simplify LLC said that a record 5.5 million entrepreneurs launched new businesses nationally in 2023, according to the SBA, marking the third consecutive year an historic number of Americans decided to take a leap of faith and go out on their own in the business world.
The study notes that a wave of entrepreneurship started during the global COVID-19 pandemic because of job losses, quiet quitting, and the normalization of remote work. Simplify said that because of technological advances, Americans realized they could be just as innovative and productive working from home without sacrificing any functional capabilities.
Simplify also said that by using artificial intelligence, entrepreneurs will be able to reduce overhead and streamline processes further, likely leading to more new businesses being formed in the years to come.
Simplify said it analyzed the most recent federal data across six metrics to identify the best and worst states for entrepreneurs in 2024.
Those metrics included job creation, consumer spending, inflation, business growth, corporate taxes, and whether educated workers are more likely to move in or out of the state.
You can see the full study by going here.
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