Business & Economy

Most expensive states to start a business

Written by:
Ben Wittstein
August 2, 2018
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Most expensive states to start a business

One of the most stressful things a person can do is start a new business, in part because there are so many moving parts and costs that are hard to predict. While equity distribution, staff size, product pricing and investment can all drive prospective business owners up a wall, one of the most important choices to make is where to set up shop.

While averages are heavily variant across different fields, studies show the cumulative costs of starting a business typically average about $30,000. Around 543,000 new businesses are opened every month, and if that trend is to continue, hundreds of thousands of future business owners will have to make the pivotal decision of where to plant their flags. 

Stacker referenced data from WalletHub in order to rank the best states for beginning a new business. The rankings are aggregated from the states' corporate taxes, their respective costs of living and the affordability of office space (listed by average price per square foot).

Read on to see where you may want to start your next business.

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#50. Oklahoma

Office space affordability: $14.57 per SF (rank: #14/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #9/50
Cost of living rank: #3/50


 

#49. Mississippi

Office space affordability: $14.06 per SF (rank: #12/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #11/50
Cost of living rank: #1/50


 

#48. Michigan

Office space affordability: $15.07 per SF (rank: #19/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #8/50
Cost of living rank: #4/50


 

#47. West Virginia

Office space affordability: $15.54 per SF (rank: #23/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #17/50
Cost of living rank: #23/50


 

#46. Kentucky

Office space affordability: $14.61 per SF (rank: #15/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #27/50
Cost of living rank: #16/50


 

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#45. South Dakota

Office space affordability: $12.76 per SF (rank: #3/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #1/50
Cost of living rank: #27/50


 

#44. Idaho

Office space affordability: $13.61 per SF (rank: #9/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #25/50
Cost of living rank: #13/50


 

#43. Montana

Office space affordability: $13.18 per SF (rank: #4/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #12/50
Cost of living rank: #31/50


 

#42. Alabama

Office space affordability: $14.77 per SF (rank: #18/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #22/50
Cost of living rank: #8/50


 

#41. Nebraska

Office space affordability: $13.83 per SF (rank: #10/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #28/50
Cost of living rank: #15/50


 

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#40. Arkansas

Office space affordability: $15.41 per SF (rank: #22/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #39/50
Cost of living rank: #2/50


 

#39. Tennessee

Office space affordability: $16.13 per SF (rank: #28/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #21/50
Cost of living rank: #5/50


 

#38. South Carolina

Office space affordability: $15.37 per SF (rank: #21/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #15/50
Cost of living rank: #27/50


 

#37. North Carolina

Office space affordability: $17.56 per SF (rank: #35/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #3/50
Cost of living rank: #18/50


 

#36. Louisiana

Office space affordability: $15.58 per SF (rank: #24/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #40/50
Cost of living rank: #17/50


 

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#35. Texas

Office space affordability: $14.06 per SF (rank: #12/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #49/50
Cost of living rank: #11/50


 

#34. Georgia

Office space affordability: $15.75 per SF (rank: #25/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #10/50
Cost of living rank: #9/50


 

#33. Indiana

Office space affordability: $14.03 per SF (rank: #11/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #23/50
Cost of living rank: #10/50


 

#32. New Mexico

Office space affordability: $15.29 per SF (rank: #20/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #24/50
Cost of living rank: #19/50


 

#31. Missouri

Office space affordability: $16.79 per SF (rank: #31/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #5/50
Cost of living rank: #6/50


 

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#30. Kansas

Office space affordability: $14.64 per SF (rank: #16/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #38/50
Cost of living rank: #7/50


 

#29. Maine

Office space affordability: $12.64 per SF (rank: #2/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #41/50
Cost of living rank: #38/50


 

#28. Arizona

Office space affordability: $17.96 per SF (rank: #38/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #13/50
Cost of living rank: #20/50


 

#27. Ohio

Office space affordability: $13.37 per SF (rank: #6/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #47/50
Cost of living rank: #14/50


 

#26. Florida

Office space affordability: $17.63 per SF (rank: #36/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #19/50
Cost of living rank: #26/50


 

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#25. Wyoming

Office space affordability: $16.87 per SF (rank: #32/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #1/50
Cost of living rank: #20/50


 

#24. Vermont

Office space affordability: $14.75 per SF (rank: #17/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #37/50
Cost of living rank: #40/50


 

#23. Wisconsin

Office space affordability: $13.52 per SF (rank: #7/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #29/50
Cost of living rank: #24/50


 

#22. Nevada

Office space affordability: $15.75 per SF (rank: #25/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #33/50
Cost of living rank: #36/50


 

#21. Iowa

Office space affordability: $12.08 per SF (rank: #1/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #48/50
Cost of living rank: #12/50


 

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#20. North Dakota

Office space affordability: Not available per SF (rank: #N/A/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #16/50
Cost of living rank: #29/50


 

#19. Colorado

Office space affordability: $17.43 per SF (rank: #34/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #18/50
Cost of living rank: #34/50


 

#18. Utah

Office space affordability: $19.91 per SF (rank: #46/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #4/50
Cost of living rank: #22/50


 

#17. Virginia

Office space affordability: $19.06 per SF (rank: #43/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #6/50
Cost of living rank: #33/50


 

#16. Rhode Island

Office space affordability: $15.85 per SF (rank: #27/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #30/50
Cost of living rank: #42/50


 

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#15. Oregon

Office space affordability: $18.36 per SF (rank: #39/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #34/50
Cost of living rank: #45/50


 

#14. Pennsylvania

Office space affordability: $17.06 per SF (rank: #33/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #44/50
Cost of living rank: #32/50


 

#13. Illinois

Office space affordability: $16.32 per SF (rank: #29/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #36/50
Cost of living rank: #25/50


 

#12. Minnesota

Office space affordability: $13.32 per SF (rank: #5/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #43/50
Cost of living rank: #29/50


 

#11. New Hampshire

Office space affordability: $13.56 per SF (rank: #8/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #45/50
Cost of living rank: #39/50


 

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#10. Washington

Office space affordability: $18.51 per SF (rank: #40/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #46/50
Cost of living rank: #37/50


 

#9. Delaware

Office space affordability: $18.71 per SF (rank: #41/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #50/50
Cost of living rank: #35/50


 

#8. Hawaii

Office space affordability: $17.84 per SF (rank: #37/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #14/50
Cost of living rank: #50/50


 

#7. Massachusetts

Office space affordability: $16.36 per SF (rank: #30/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #35/50
Cost of living rank: #48/50


 

#6. Maryland

Office space affordability: $19.46 per SF (rank: #45/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #20/50
Cost of living rank: #44/50


 

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#5. Connecticut

Office space affordability: $18.77 per SF (rank: #42/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #31/50
Cost of living rank: #43/50


 

#4. California

Office space affordability: $23.08 per SF (rank: #47/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #32/50
Cost of living rank: #49/50


 

#3. Alaska

Office space affordability: $24.20 per SF (rank: #48/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #26/50
Cost of living rank: #46/50


 

#2. New York

Office space affordability: $26.66 per SF (rank: #49/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #7/50
Cost of living rank: #47/50


 

#1. New Jersey

Office space affordability: $19.30 per SF (rank: #44/50)
Corporate taxes rank: #42/50
Cost of living rank: #41/50


 

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