Looking to Start a Business? New Jersey May Not Be the Best Place

The Garden State ranks low on the list of states to start a new business in, according to one website.

We've seen a bunch of businesses come and go here at the Jersey Shore.  Starting a business is never easy.  Some businesses soar, while others, unfortunately, don't make it.  It requires risky investments, finding trustworthy people to work with you, patience, and a lot of determination.

As if all the above weren't enough to worry about, external factors like the Covid-19 pandemic play a role in whether or not a business succeeds.  Many small businesses were hurt due to the forced closures from the shutdown.

WalletHub has a series of studies on its website, including lists of the best and worst places of each year.  In January, they shared 2023's Best & Worst States to Start a Business.

The website based its rankings on business environments (length of work week, growth in the number of small businesses, five-year business survival rate, etc), access to resources (financing availability, the share of college-educated population, human-capital availability, etc), and business costs (cost of living, corporate taxes, office space availability, etc), on a scale from 1-50, with 1 being the best, and 50 being the worst.

Let's start off with the positives.  WalletHub ranked Utah as the best state to start a new business in.  Florida, Texas, Colorado, and Idaho trailed behind it.

And now, the bad part...

New Jersey ranked number 47 on the list, making it 4th worst state to start a business in.  Our business environment had an average score, and our access to resources was above average.  As you can imagine, we tanked in the business costs area.

Take a look at the map below:

Would you let this deter you from starting a business in New Jersey?