The Best and Worst Places to Start a Business in 2023

If diving into entrepreneurship was on your list of New Year’s resolutions this year, you might be wondering how to position yourself for maximum success.

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Maybe you’ve already checked some of the essentials off your list: You’ve come up with a business idea, started market research and gotten critical feedback.

But you should also consider what could go wrong and get ahead of it.

Something as simple as where you launch your venture could mean the difference between if it flourishes — or fails.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, your business location is “one of the most important decisions you’ll make,” as it impacts your taxes, legal requirements, revenue and more.

Wallethub compared the 50 states across 27 key indicators of startup success to zero in on the best place to start and grow your next big idea. Here’s what it found:

Overall Rank: 1	State: Utah	Total Rank: 59.91	Business Environment: 7	Access to Resources: 1	Business Costs: 32
2	Florida	59.21	1	14	24
3	Texas	56.85	3	12	31
4	Colorado	56.14	4	7	35
5	Idaho	55.88	9	21	10
6	Georgia	55.37	5	26	19
7	Arizona	53.79	6	22	30
8	Nevada	53.54	12	11	26
9	Oklahoma	53.12	28	19	1
10	California	52.97	2	2	49
11	North Carolina	52.90	11	17	20
12	Montana	52.86	15	28	7
13	Maine	51.73	10	41	18
14	Kentucky	50.68	24	36	4
15	Washington	50.60	13	3	41
16	South Carolina	49.99	18	35	17
17	Tennessee	49.90	14	40	21
18	South Dakota	49.70	34	25	5
19	Massachusetts	49.42	17	4	44
20	Mississippi	49.37	43	30	2
21	Michigan	49.32	36	24	6
22	Hawaii	48.95	8	15	43
23	Indiana	47.75	29	42	11
24	Arkansas	47.65	25	49	9
25	Nebraska	46.92	32	39	16
26	Illinois	46.89	39	6	37
27	Iowa	46.84	31	27	23
28	Alabama	46.51	38	47	8
29	Louisiana	46.29	40	43	12
30	New Mexico	46.12	33	46	14
31	New York	46.10	19	5	47
32	Oregon	46.03	16	18	40
33	Vermont	45.79	35	23	29
34	Delaware	45.48	23	9	42
35	Ohio	45.21	45	37	13
36	Kansas	44.68	44	44	15
37	Wisconsin	44.43	46	31	22
38	Minnesota	44.17	27	32	33
39	New Hampshire	43.71	21	38	39
40	Missouri	43.69	48	34	25
41	Maryland	43.65	20	10	48
42	Virginia	43.38	26	29	38
43	North Dakota	43.34	37	45	27
44	Pennsylvania	42.84	42	20	34
45	Wyoming	42.66	41	48	28
46	Rhode Island	42.03	47	16	36
47	New Jersey	41.63	22	13	50
48	West Virginia	40.56	50	50	3
49	Connecticut	39.97	49	8	46
50	Alaska	39.44	30	33	45