ATLANTA, GA -- A new survey claims Georgia is the best state for black entrepreneurship.
FitSmallBusiness.com ranked states on the number of African-American owned businesses, corporate tax rates, and what assets are offered to black entrepreneurs.
Second on the list was Texas, followed by Florida, California and North Carolina.
“With six out of the top 10 states on our list from the Southern U.S.—and Georgia at #1—it’s clear that there is a thriving environment for Black business people in the region.,” Valerie D’Orazio of FitSmallBusiness.com said in a release. “The South also dominates our separate ‘Top 5s’ in each of our race-specific ranking criteria, making up almost every slot with the exception of Hawaii.”
Conversely, the lowest ranked states were in New England, which may seem counterintuitive given a commonly-held belief that the North is more equal for African-Americans.
“One possible answer might be that the Black population in New England, as well as the Midwest (another set of states that largely ranked lower on our list), is relatively low. In comparison, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2017 58% of those living in the South were Black. Additionally, the cost of living is generally far lower in the Southern states, which is especially an advantage to Blacks who have difficulty securing outside funding,” D’Orazio says.
Kaufman Foundation claims that young black men and women are 50 percent more likely than whites to engage in entrepreneurial activities.
The number of businesses owned by black women grew 322 percent since 1997.