Massachusetts is rated as the 18th-best state to start a business, with the most educated residents in the country but with high business costs, according to a new report.
The Bay State ranked tops in the Northeast and outranked two other states — California and New York — that also have big tech industries that compete with Massachusetts, according to the report issued Wednesday by the website WalletHub using U.S. Census Bureau data.
In fact, more rural states came in at the top, with North Dakota topping the list, followed by Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The worst five states, starting with the 50th spot, were New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
Among other New England states, Vermont was 20th, Maine was 37th and Connecticut was 44th.
States were ranked based on costs of doing business, both for office space and labor costs, access to cash and human capital, and spending on incentives, among a total of 20 factors.
Massachusetts ranked second behind only Utah for access to resources, which includes availability of funding and a college-educated workforce. The state was 45th for high business costs and 14th for business environment, which includes average workweek length, growth rate of small businesses and startups per capita.
