Administration August 8, 2001

States' Entrepreneurial Spirit Ranked

August 8, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Small businesses and entrepreneurs can gain a quick read on their state's entrepreneurial "spirit", at least as measured by the sixth annual Small Business Survival Index 2001.
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The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) ranks the states by measuring 17 major government-imposed or government-related costs that impact small businesses and entrepreneurs.   These measures are combined into one index number—the Small Business Survival Index.

Small Business Friendly

The five states at the top of the scale, in order of friendliest, were found to be:

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  • Nevada, with a score of 27.060,
  • South Dakota at 28.250
  • followed by Washington at 32.010
  • Wyoming at 32.150, and
  • Florida at 33.180

 Unfriendly

 At the other end of the scale, the District of Columbia was found have the most-unfriendly policies towards small businesses, scoring 65.333, followed by

  • Rhode Island at 59.011,
  • Hawaii at 57.235,
  • Maine at 56.150
  • Kansas at 55.980, and
  • Minnesota at 55.890

 Factors considered in the study included taxes on: 

  • personal income,
  • corporate income,
  • property,
  • capital gains,
  • sales,
  • death,
  • unemployment,
  • health insurance,
  • Internet, and
  • gas  

In addition to: 

  • electricity costs,
  • workers’ compensation costs,
  • crime rates,
  • right to work status,
  • number of bureaucrats,
  • tax limitation status, and
  • state minimum wages

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