A national survey gave Washington a D+ grade in business “friendliness” due to its regulatory environment, while recognizing the state as one of the easiest in which to start a business ,with an A- grade in that category.
The survey of 12,632 businesses was conducted by Thumbtack.com, a San Francisco-based consumer information business, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City nonprofit foundation that supports education and entrepreneurship. Thumbtack.com says its “small business friendliness survey” is the largest survey of its kind and the only survey drawn from a nationwide sample of small business owners.
Washington earned a D- for its regulations, one of the worst grades in the country. Within that category, Washington small businesses gave their highest grade for licensing, and that was only a C.
The state’s small businesses gave the state a D grade for its labor and environmental laws, and its zoning regulations earned a grade of F.
Still, Washington earned an A- for the ease of starting a business.
The survey also found that women entrepreneurs in Washington ranked state government friendliness 15 percentage points higher than did male entrepreneurs, and Washington’s networking and training programs for small businesses ranked 6th in the nation overall.
Oregon fared somewhat better, earning a C+ grade for its overall friendliness. But it ranked as one of the worst states in the nation for hiring new employees, with a D+ rating. The state also earned a D grade for regulatory friendliness and a D+ for its zoning laws.
Portland, one of 82 cities with its own data, earned a B- for overall friendliness to small businesses, and a C- for overall regulatory friendliness.
The top-rated states overall in the survey were Utah, Idaho, Texas, Virginia and Louisiana. The lowest-rated were Rhode Island, Illinois, California, Connecticut and New Jersey.
The full survey results aren at www.thumbtack.com/survey#/2014/1/states
