By Parija Kavilanz @CNNMoney August 19, 2015: 1:44 PM ET
6. Nashville, Tenn.
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For small businesses starting out, Nashville is an affordable city where taxes are low.
Entrepreneurs like the sense of community and its myriad cultural offerings.
But perhaps what has kept Nashville out of the top five was a "B" grade in hiring and a "C-" in business networking and training opportunities.
One business owner pointed out another grievance. "I own a catering firm and there isn't a lot of information about the licenses needed. It's been difficult to find out what I specifically need to run this business from my home."
First published August 19, 2015: 1:44 PM ET
Methodology: Thumbtack polled its users in December 2014; 18,000 small businesses in its database of 150,000 active monthly users responded. Entrepreneurs from all 50 states replied, but the ranking excluded 14 states that didn't meet the threshold of receiving at least 50 responses.
