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- A new report from financial website WalletHub looked at which states were the best for starting a business.
- The study analyzed states according to metrics like access to resources and potential business costs.
- Here are the top 10 best and worst states to start a business.
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Where you start a business can make a big impact on how well it fares.
A new WalletHub study evaluated states across three metrics: “Business Environment” looked at 14 factors ranging from five-year business survival rate to the average length of the work week. “Access to Resources” considered 6 factors, like the amount of venture capital investment per capita and the college-educated share of the population. While “Business Costs” examined seven types of costs including office-space affordability, labor costs, and state and local tax rates.
For those who are entertaining thoughts of launching a new business, Insider did the homework for you. Here are 10 best states to launch a business, according to WalletHub.
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Utah earned the highest overall score for starting a new business according to WalletHub.
Business Environment: 7 out of 50
Access to Resources: 1 out of 50
Business Costs: 32 out of 50
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Florida earned the second-highest overall score for starting a new business, according to WalletHub.
Business Environment: 1 out of 50
Access to Resources: 14 out of 50
Business Costs: 24 out of 50
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Texas earned the third highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 3 out of 50
Access to Resources: 12 out of 50
Business Costs: 31 out of 50
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Colorado earned the fourth highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 4 out of 50
Access to Resources: 7 out of 50
Business Costs: 35 out of 50
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Idaho earned the fifth highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 9 out of 50
Access to Resources: 21 out of 50
Business Costs: 10 out of 50
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Georgia earned the sixth highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 5 out of 50
Access to Resources: 26 out of 50
Business Costs: 19 out of 50
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Arizona earned the seventh highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 6 out of 50
Access to Resources: 22 out of 50
Business Costs: 30 out of 50
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Nevada earned the eight highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 12 out of 50
Access to Resources: 11 out of 50
Business Costs: 26 out of 50
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Oklahoma earned the ninth highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 28 out of 50
Access to Resources: 19 out of 50
Business Costs: 1 out of 50
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California earned the tenth highest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 2 out of 50
Access to Resources: 2 out of 50
Business Costs: 49 out of 50
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…and here are the 10 worst states to set up shop, according to WalletHub.
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Alaska had the lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 30 out of 50
Access to Resources: 33 out of 50
Business Costs: 45 out of 50
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Connecticut had the second lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 49 out of 50
Access to Resources: 8 out of 50
Business Costs: 46 out of 50
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West Virginia had the third lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 50 out of 50
Access to Resources: 50 out of 50
Business Costs: 3 out of 50
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New Jersey had the fourth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 22 out of 50
Access to Resources: 13 out of 50
Business Costs: 50 out of 50
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Rhode Island had the fifth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 47 out of 50
Access to Resources: 16 out of 50
Business Costs: 36 out of 50
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Wyoming had the sixth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 41 out of 50
Access to Resources: 48 out of 50
Business Costs: 28 out of 50
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Pennsylvania had the seventh lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 42 out of 50
Access to Resources: 20 out of 50
Business Costs: 34 out of 50
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North Dakota had the eighth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 37 out of 50
Access to Resources: 45 out of 50
Business Costs: 27 out of 50
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Virginia had the ninth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 26 out of 50
Access to Resources: 29 out of 50
Business Costs: 38 out of 50
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Maryland had the tenth lowest overall score for starting a new business.
Business Environment: 20 out of 50
Access to Resources: 10 out of 50
Business Costs: 48 out of 50