Survey Gives NH “A” In Small Business Friendliness…But With A Catch

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New Hampshire stands out as a friendly state for small businesses

Here’s a news tip courtesy of our sister site, StateImpact Idaho.  The Kauffman Foundation and online hiring service Thumbtack.com surveyed more than 6,000 small business owners. The questions covered an array of topics, including: Overall small business-friendliness, ease of starting a business, hiring costs, regulations, training programs, networking programs, and current economic health.

And when you break it all down, New Hampshire’s small business environment far outpaces the rest of the Northeast, with a solid “A.”  That’s compared to a “D+” for Maine, a “D” for Massachusetts and Connecticut, and an “F” for Rhode Island and Vermont.

It’s not until you hit Virginia that the Eastern Seaboard looks better than lackluster.  And that illustrates an interesting geographic trend.  With the exception of New Hampshire, most of the solid “A’s”  are concentrated in the South.  Meanwhile, Idaho, Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma outshine the rest of the country, with each earning an “A+”

So what’s holding the Granite State up from that A+ grade?  Mainly, it’s hiring costs.  That’s how much it costs a company to bring on new workers in addition to their salaries.  Survey respondents gave the state a “D” in this category, which isn’t surprising given the state’s notoriously high health insurance premiums.

The Thumbtack.com/Kauffman Foundation survey summary is well worth the read, and includes an interactive map that’s fun to tinker with.