Illinois is the 5th-worst state for small business

The study, drawing upon data from more than 7,000 small business owners, provides new insights into state and local business environments across the nation.

Ben VanMetre
Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst

Illinois is fifth-worst state for small businesses, according to the second annual Small Business Friendliness Survey by Thumbtack and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

This finding explains why Illinois’ rate of entrepreneurship has been below the national average every year since 1996, except for 2001.

The study, drawing upon data from more than 7,000 small business owners, provides new insights into state and local business environments across the nation.

Dane Stangler, director of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, said:

It is critical to the economic health of every city and state to create an entrepreneur-friendly environment ? Policymakers put themselves in the best position to encourage sustainable growth and long-term prosperity by listening to the voices of small business owners themselves.

The map below shows how each state was graded, from A+ (orange) to F (blue), in achieving those goals:

The following chart breaks down Illinois? individual scores in each category. Illinois? lowest scores included a D in overall friendliness and a D+ in ease of hiring and licensing.

Illinois? grades for each category

If Illinois continues down its path of broken policies and heavy regulations, it will be joining Maine and Rhode Island in the F category.

Nothing would be better for Illinoisans and the state?s 9.5 percent unemployment rate than a thriving economy that attracts businesses and entrepreneurship. It seems there is a lot we can lean a lot from the states that are friendliest to businesses.