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Marriott International has named Residence Inn Idaho Falls the Residence Inn brand’s Hotel of the Year for 2022.

Utah ranks #1 as best state to start a business

WalletHub releases list of 2023’s best & worst states to start a business.

Source: Adam McCann, Financial Writer — Wallet Hub

Starting a business is never easy. According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, about a fifth of all startups typically don’t survive past year one of operation, 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 a global pandemic, the highest inflation in decades and labor shortages.

Outside of the current difficult economic conditions, there are plenty of other reasons that startups fail, with a “bad location” 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 27 key indicators of startup success to determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise.

Main Findings

115050

StateRank
Utah1
Florida2
Texas3
Colorado4
Idaho5
Georgia6
Arizona7
Nevada8
Oklahoma9
California10
North Carolina11
Montana12
Maine13
Kentucky14
Washington15
South Carolina16
Tennessee17
South Dakota18
Massachusetts19
Mississippi20
Michigan21
Hawaii22
Indiana23
Arkansas24
Nebraska25
Illinois26
Iowa27
Alabama28
Louisiana29
New Mexico30
New York31
Oregon32
Vermont33
Delaware34
Ohio35
Kansas36
Wisconsin37
Minnesota38
New Hampshire39
Missouri40
Maryland41
Virginia42
North Dakota43
Pennsylvania44
Wyoming45
Rhode Island46
New Jersey47
West Virginia48
Connecticut49
Alaska50

Best States to Start a Business

Overall Rank StateTotal Score Business Environment Access to Resources Business Costs 
1Utah59.917132
2Florida59.2111424
3Texas56.8531231
4Colorado56.144735
5Idaho55.8892110
6Georgia55.3752619
7Arizona53.7962230
8Nevada53.54121126
9Oklahoma53.1228191
10California52.972249
11North Carolina52.90111720
12Montana52.8615287
13Maine51.73104118
14Kentucky50.6824364
15Washington50.6013341
16South Carolina49.99183517
17Tennessee49.90144021
18South Dakota49.7034255
19Massachusetts49.4217444
20Mississippi49.3743302
21Michigan49.3236246
22Hawaii48.9581543
23Indiana47.75294211
24Arkansas47.6525499
25Nebraska46.92323916
26Illinois46.8939637
27Iowa46.84312723
28Alabama46.5138478
29Louisiana46.29404312
30New Mexico46.12334614
31New York46.1019547
32Oregon46.03161840
33Vermont45.79352329
34Delaware45.4823942
35Ohio45.21453713
36Kansas44.68444415
37Wisconsin44.43463122
38Minnesota44.17273233
39New Hampshire43.71213839
40Missouri43.69483425
41Maryland43.65201048
42Virginia43.38262938
43North Dakota43.34374527
44Pennsylvania42.84422034
45Wyoming42.66414828
46Rhode Island42.03471636
47New Jersey41.63221350
48West Virginia40.5650503
49Connecticut39.9749846
50Alaska39.44303345

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.
 

Read the full article on WalletHub here.