PROVIDENCE — According to a new study, Maine is the best state in New England in which to launch a business in 2025. But that may not be saying much: The Pine Tree State ranked 23rd out of 50 according to a report by the personal finance platform WalletHub — ahead of every other New England state, but far behind top-ranked Florida.
Massachusetts came in 33rd, according to the report. Vermont was in 42nd place, New Hampshire in 45th, Connecticut in 49th, and Rhode Island at the bottom of the list, in 50th.
WalletHub used 25 different indicators to determine its rankings, including looking at the ease of accessing capital, the overall business environment and the costs of running a business in each of the 50 states.
Rhode Island was ranked last in the business environment category, came in 46th in the ease of accessing financing, and 40th when it came to the cost of running a business.
“Around half of all new businesses don’t survive five years, so the idea of becoming a business owner can be daunting, especially with the current high cost of living,” Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, said in the report. “That’s why it’s crucial to establish your business in a state that will maximize your chances of success.”
The most attractive states to start a business tend to be in parts of the country with low corporate taxes, where its easy to recruit talent, have the ability to offer accessible financing and offer affordable real estate, Lupo added.
Florida secured the top overall spot in the WalletHub rankings, followed by Georgia and Utah.
Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and Kentucky rounded out the overall top 10, according to the report. Mississippi, in 14th place overall, was No. 1 for business costs, and California, in 18th place overall, was the top state in terms of access to resources.
Businesses in the Ocean State have had a challenging time recently. The closure of the Washington Bridge, which connected the state’s capital Providence to the city of East Providence on one side and linked the East Bay area and Southeastern Massachusetts with the western part, has had a devastating impact on businesses.
A recent report by Salve Regina University and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association revealed that the hospitality sector, for example. was projected to have lost $114 million in revenue and more than 1,300 jobs since the bridge’s shutdown in December 2023.
Omar Mohammed can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.
This post was originally published on here
