Florida was ranked the second-best state in the country to start a small business by Lendio. The lender highlighted the state’s high number of small business loans approved. 

Texas, Florida, Ohio and Massachusetts were ranked No. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, due to their low taxes, mass migration of educated workers, sufficient business funding and the fact that more than half of all startups had survived at least five years in each state, which was above average. 

“The Sunshine State sees more than half of its startup businesses survive to at least five years,” the report said. “It’s also a top recipient of small business loan dollars (11th compared to other states). Its entrepreneurs earned nearly $2 billion in 7a loans and $732 million in 504 loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration in fiscal year 2022.”

The bottom states, Hawaii, Maine and New Hampshire, were cited for their low business funding and venture capital availability, limited local incentive programs, high tax rates and high costs of living.   

Lendio considered nine metrics in developing its ranking, including small business lending, the five-year startup survival rate, cost of living, real estate data, educated worker migration, corporate tax rates, state-level incentives for business owners, personal consumption expenditures and venture capital disbursed. 

 The top 10 states in the ranking are:  

1. Texas. 
2. Florida. 
3. Ohio. 
4. Massachusetts. 
5. North Carolina. 
6. Colorado. 
7. Oklahoma. 
8. South Carolina. 
9. Georgia. 
10. Utah.