Wisconsin is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to attracting startups. According to a recent WalletHub report, the Badger State is the 24th best state to start a business.
Analysts compared all 50 states across 20 metrics that fell under three key categories: business environment, access to resources, and business costs. These included factors like average growth in number of small businesses, average growth of business revenues, five-year business survival rate, taxes, labor costs, availability of human capital, and financing accessibility.
Wisconsin scored 45.36 on the 100-point scale. It ranked 18th for business environment, 46th for access to resources, and 28th for business costs. Neighboring Illinois ranked 25th, Iowa 23rd, Michigan 16th, and Minnesota 30th.
In terms of taxes, however, Wisconsin ranked much better: 43rd, one of the top 10 lowest combined state and average local sales tax rates in the country (5.42 percent), according to the Tax Foundation’s midyear report. In this ranking, Illinois ranked 7th highest, Iowa 27th highest, Michigan 38th highest, and Minnesota 18th highest.