Kauffman Foundation State Entrepreneurship Rankings

By The Editors For Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Feature Charticle
Kauffman Early-State Entrepreneurship Index Rankings
Rank State Overall Score Share of adults becoming entrepreneurs in a given month (%) Share of entrepreneurs driven by opportunity (%) Jobs created by startup per 1,000 people Share of firms surviving one year after founding (%)
1 California 2.86 0.4 87.0 6.6 82.3
2 Missouri 1.86 0.3 88.5 5.2 85.3
3 Florida 1.75 0.4 85.4 6.5 78.4
4 Wyoming 1.68 0.5 85.6 4.7 77.3
5 Texas 1.67 0.4 83.8 5.7 79.5
6 Maine 1.63 0.3 78.4 4.7 88.1
7 Montana 1.54 0.4 86.2 4.7 80.6
8 Arizona 1.31 0.4 89.6 5.2 77.9
9 Oklahoma 1.17 0.4 87.7 5.1 76.8
10 Minnesota 1.14 0.3 88.0 4.4 83.9
11 New York 1.12 0.3 87.0 6.3 80.0
12 Washington 1.09 0.3 92.0 5.3 80.3
13 Idaho 1.08 0.3 83.9 6.0 80.6
14 Nevada 1.06 0.4 86.8 6.6 76.9
15 North Dakota 1.05 0.4 88.3 5.4 77.0
16 Massachusetts 0.89 0.3 88.6 6.1 82.7
17 New Jersey 0.75 0.3 85.5 5.6 80.0
18 South Dakota 0.66 0.3 92.7 4.0 81.4
19 Colorado 0.54 0.3 83.6 6.5 78.1
20 Alaska 0.45 0.4 79.3 3.5 78.5
21 Georgia 0.43 0.4 87.3 6.2 73.5
22 Utah 0.39 0.3 90.0 5.2 78.6
23 Mississippi 0.31 0.4 82.5 3.8 78.4
24 Tennessee 0.29 0.3 89.4 4.7 81.2
25 Vermont 0.17 0.4 76.6 3.8 78.8
26 Nebraska 0.01 0.3 94.0 5.1 77.7
27 North Carolina -0.02 0.3 87.2 4.6 78.9
28 Michigan -0.03 0.2 87.6 4.2 81.5
29 Oregon -0.05 0.3 80.0 5.2 78.4
30 Louisiana -0.22 0.3 75.6 4.6 80.4
31 Iowa -0.24 0.2 94.0 3.6 80.4
32 New Mexico -0.31 0.4 76.0 3.9 76.4
33 Arkansas -0.33 0.3 84.2 4.0 79.0
34 District of Columbia -0.51 0.2 74.5 10.3 76.6
35 West Virginia -0.54 0.3 89.0 3.0 79.4
36 Hawaii -0.62 0.3 81.4 5.1 78.0
37 South Carolina -0.70 0.3 77.7 4.3 80.8
38 Maryland -0.78 0.3 75.9 4.2 77.5
39 Kentucky -0.82 0.2 85.9 4.1 79.2
40 Delaware -0.86 0.2 93.4 5.3 78.6
41 Alabama -0.88 0.2 78.9 4.4 80.3
42 Connecticut -0.94 0.2 81.9 3.9 79.7
43 Kansas -1.15 0.3 80.2 4.9 74.2
44 Virginia -1.23 0.2 80.0 5.0 78.8
45 Indiana -1.26 0.2 83.4 3.4 80.2
46 Wisconsin -1.29 0.3 73.3 4.2 79.3
47 Pennsylvania -1.30 0.2 84.7 3.9 80.2
48 Illinois -1.36 0.2 74.1 5.5 78.3
49 New Hampshire -1.40 0.2 82.8 3.4 77.3
50 Ohio -1.85 0.2 82.6 3.7 75.8
51 Rhode Island -2.93 0.2 68.7 4.0 77.4

Read the full report here. 

Findings:

  • California is the most entrepreneurial state, with a Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) score of 2.86.

  • Missouri, Florida, Wyoming, and Texas round out the top 5, with Rhode Island coming in dead last with a KESE score of -2.93.

  • The KESE score is an aggregate of four entrepreneurship indicators: 

    • Share of adults becoming entrepreneurs in a given month.

    • Share of entrepreneurs driven by opportunity rather than necessity.

    • Jobs created by startup per 1,000 people.
    • Share of firms surviving one year after founding.