In case you missed it, a recent Thumbtack.com Small Business Friendly Survey conducted in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation told us what we already suspected about Oklahoma. It’s a small business friendly state.
Oklahoma scored a “B” in the A-F rankings based on a survey of 7,000 small business owners nationwide. It ranked in the upper third along with Arkansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
“Oklahoma is a very friendly supportive state for any new business setups,” an Oklahoma City accountant was quoted at the Thumbtack.com survey website.
The top ranked states were Utah, Alabama, New Hampshire and Idaho.
States ranked at the bottom of the small business friendly survey were Hawaii, Maine and Rhode Island, all of which received an “F,” while California and Illinois each received a “D.”
In the survey, Oklahoma ranked highest for Zoning (A+), Environmental (A), Licensing (A), Employment (A-) and Regulations (A-). It ranked lowest for Ease of Starting a Business (C-).
The survey also broke down major cities by their small business friendly ranking. Austin, Texas; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Houston were the top ranked cities.
Oklahoma City earned a “B+,” but Tulsa didn’t fare as well, earning a “D+. The overall bottom ranked city was Newark, N.J.
Click here to view the data, maps and quotes from individual business owners in each state.
I wanted to see what small business owners in a low ranked state said about their situation, so I clicked on Maine and saw this:
“The state of Maine’s economy has still not yet recovered from the Crash of 1929,” said a computer repair business owner.
Whoa. That’s 84 years without a recovery. Makes me glad to call Oklahoma home.
