Starting a Business? Consider Ohio and Pennsylvania as Top States

Best States for Small Business Startup Success in 2024

According to a recent study by Forbes Advisor, Ohio and Pennsylvania rank among the top ten best states for starting a new small business in 2024, securing the sixth and seventh positions respectively.

Examining Key Metrics for Small Business Success

This comprehensive study by Forbes Advisor focused on 18 key metrics across five major categories to determine the best states for small businesses to thrive in 2024. Key factors such as business costs, total growth in small businesses since 2020, and business survival rate were taken into account.

Ohio’s Attractive Small Business Landscape

Ohio has experienced a net increase of 13% in the number of small businesses over the past year, boasting a business survival rate of 76%. The analysis considered factors such as income taxes, corporate taxes, property taxes, formation fees, minimum wage and number of natural disasters. Ohio also ranked highly for financial accessibility and economy, securing the third position, and fourth for business costs.

Pennsylvania’s Impressive Financial Accessibility

Similar to Ohio, Pennsylvania also exhibited favorable conditions for small business growth and startup success. Interestingly, Pennsylvania topped the chart in financial accessibility, enhancing its attractiveness for new business formations.

Top Five States for Small Business Growth

The five states that outperformed Ohio and Pennsylvania in this study include North Dakota, Indiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Carolina. At the other end of the spectrum, Vermont and New York were found to be the least favorable states for small business startup success.

Insightful Takeaways from the Study

The study provided some notable insights including:

• California had the highest business survival rate at 81.5%, while Washington had the lowest rate of just below 60%.
• Registering a new business in Kentucky comes with the lowest fee of $40, compared to Massachusetts, which has the highest registration fee of $500.
• Massachusetts also leads in terms of education, with 46.65% of the population holding a degree. Colorado followed closely with more than 45% degree holders.

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Originally published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.