Who loves small business best? 2006: Full list

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FSB Who loves small business best? 2006

Which states are low on taxes and light on government regulations? Exclusive rankings for FSB.com from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.*

Full list

Rank	State	Index score
1	South Dakota	26.36
2	Nevada	29.92
3	Wyoming	35.84
4	Alabama	40.33
5	Washington	40.42
6	Florida	40.82
7	Mississippi	41.09
8	Colorado	42.68
9	Texas	42.71
10	Michigan	42.74
11	South Carolina	44.56
12	Indiana	44.87
13	Tennessee	44.97
14	Virginia	45.46
15	Arizona	45.75
16	Pennsylvania	45.86
17	Alaska	46.77
18	New Hampshire	47.26
19	Delaware	47.31
20	Arkansas	48.16
21	Illinois	48.49
22	Missouri	49.24
23	Oklahoma	49.46
24	North Dakota	49.85
25	Georgia	49.90
26	Utah	50.10
27	Wisconsin	51.48
28	Maryland	51.85
29	New Mexico	52.51
30	Montana	53.90
31	Nebraska	54.22
32	Connecticut	54.25
33	Louisiana	54.27
34	Idaho	54.52
35	Kansas	54.80
36	Kentucky	56.27
37	West Virginia	56.66
38	Ohio	56.73
39	Oregon	57.06
40	North Carolina	57.48
41	Iowa	57.76
42	Vermont	59.48
43	Massachusetts	61.06
44	Hawaii	62.61
45	New York	62.65
46	Minnesota	63.59
47	Maine	63.99
48	Rhode Island	64.97
49	California	65.12
50	New Jersey	65.35
51	Washington, D.C.**	75.42

Footnotes:
* SBE Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit which advocates for reduced government taxes and regulations on small business, tends to lobby for the Republican agenda when it comes to taxes and regulations.
** Washington, D.C. was not included in a study ranking states by liability systems, so DC.'s index score is underestimated.

Low taxes

Rank	Name
1	South Dakota
2	Nevada
3	Wyoming
See the rest

Low energy costs

Rank	Name
1	Kentucky
2	West Virginia
3	Missouri
See the rest

How we ranked the states

Which states are low on taxes and light on government regulations? In these exclusive rankings for FSB.com, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington, D.C. used their Small Business Survival Index to rate the 50 states and Washington, D.C. according to some of the major government-imposed or -related costs affecting investment, entrepreneurship, and business. SBE Council, which advocates for reduced government taxes and regulations on small business, supports a mostly Republican agenda. (more)

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