Georgia ranked the 6th best state to start a business

Georgia is the 6th best state to start a business, a new analysis reveals.

WalletHub ranked The Peach State ahead of neighboring North Carolina (No. 11), South Carolina (16), Tennessee (17) and Alabama (28) but behind Florida (2). Nationally, Utah topped the list, followed by Florida, Texas and Colorado, while Alaska, Connecticut and West Virginia rounded out the bottom of the list.

“The areas where Georgia ranked highest include the growth in the number of small businesses, which was almost 11%, the growth of average business revenues, which was over 16%, industry cluster strength, the share of fast-growing firms and digitalization,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez told The Center Square.

To develop its rankings, WalletHub examined 27 “key indicators” of start-up success, including business costs, cost of living and affordability of office space.

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“A state’s existing business environment is the most important thing that can attract more people to start their own business,” Gonzalez added. “A healthy business environment implies a lot of factors, such as the length of the work week, how committed and involved people are in their jobs and the potential for growth, among others. Easy access to resources and low costs are other indicators that a state is great for starting a business.”

Last year, a Center Square analysis found that some home-based businesses in Georgia face another layer of bureaucracy: Local government licensing requirements. State law allows local governments to levy and collect occupation taxes on any business or practitioner with an office in their jurisdiction.