Colorado slipped from 9th place in 2011 and 2012 to 14th place in 2013 in an annual ranking of states with the most entrepreneur-friendly policies.
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council released its 18th annual “Small Business Policy Index 2013: Ranking the States on Policy Measures and Costs Impacting Small Business and Entrepreneurship” on Dec. 12.
SBE Council has published the state Index for 18 years, which ranks the 50 states according to 47 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending measurements.
The states that have the most entrepreneur-friendly policies under the “Small Business Policy Index 2013” are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Texas, 4) Wyoming, 5) Florida, 6) Washington, 7) Alabama, 8) Indiana, 9) Ohio, 10) Utah, 11) Michigan, 12) North Dakota, 13) Arizona, 14) Colorado, and 15) Virginia.
In contrast, the states with the least friendly policy environments for small businesses are: 40) Rhode Island, 41) Connecticut, 42) Oregon, 43) Iowa, 44) Maine, 45) Minnesota, 46) Hawaii, 47) New York, 48) Vermont, 49) New Jersey, and 50) California.
See more at www.sbecouncil.org
SBE Council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy, research and education group that works to protect small business and promote entrepreneurship.