EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Are you having second thoughts about opening a small business? A new study revealed the best and worst states for small businesses in 2024. And yes, the Lone Star State is among the best ones.
To establish the best and worst states to start a business, the research team at LLC Geek evaluated 20 relevant factors spread across the following categories: business costs; workforce; business environment; infrastructure; and economical conditions.
According to the study, each factor was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best conditions for small businesses.
The top five results were the following:
| Rank | State | Total score |
| 1 | South Dakota | 50.56 |
| 2 | Texas | 49.90 |
| 3 | Ohio | 49.43 |
| 4 | Colorado | 49.04 |
| 5 | Florida | 48.90 |
South Dakota takes the top spot on the list as the best state for small businesses, but Texas comes second on the list.
Here are some of Texas’ key points as provided by the study:
- With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 7.7 percent and the second highest GDP in the country, Texas’ economy offers highly lucrative opportunities for entrepreneurs, also reflected by its lack of income and corporate taxes.
- Over 4,000 new small businesses received Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and the state clearly wants to push its industry further as it ranks third for the highest investment in research and development (R&D). These factors further point out to Texas’ stability, but also to the many opportunities it offers for businesses to grow.
- The working age population is the fifth highest in the US, at 66.1 percent, offering a larger workforce than most states and a healthy growth of consumer spending, at almost 10 percent.
- Texas is a good state for small businesses due to its robust GDP growth, lack of income and corporate taxes, and proactive support for entrepreneurs. With a sizable working-age population and strong consumer spending growth, Texas offers good business growth and success opportunities.
Now, this year, National Small Business Week takes place from Sunday, April 28 to Saturday, May 4. It is the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to launch a small business to finally do it.