Last month, WalletHub, a personal finance company, ranked Idaho only 19th in its Most & Least Innovative States (2024) report. But how business friendly is it in other categories?

A look at other media and think-tank producers of similar studies shows Idaho a little ahead of the pack. So, what does it mean? “When you have two studies ranking us third and fourth best and two others 26th and 19th, the question becomes what variables are they using, not what’s wrong with Idaho,” said Suzanne Budge, Idaho state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). “All eight studies showing us doing fairly well to very well, but I would encourage our state policymakers to examine them for any improvements we can make.”

Below is a sample of where Idaho ranks in other reports:

• 3–US News’ Best States 2023
• 4–American Legislative Exchange Council’s Rich States Poor States
• 6–Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index
• B–Truth in Accounting’s Financial State of the States 2023
• 12–Forbes Best States to Start a Small Business (2024)
• 16–Tax Foundation’s 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index
• 19–Wallet Hub Most & Least Innovative States (2024)
• 26–CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business

NFIB does not rank states. Instead, it ranks environments and conditions for small businesses as a whole across the nation. Its most prestigious report, called the gold standard measurement of the Main Street economy, is the monthly Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report, also known as the Optimism Index.

“The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small businesses, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions,” according to this one-page history of SBET. “Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available.”

All of NFIB’s research, such as the SBET, monthly Jobs Report, quadrennial Small Business Problems & Priorities, and other studies can be found at https://www.nfib.com/foundations/research-center/