Thinking about starting a small business? Don't move. Georgia was recently named one of the top most entrepreneurial states, according to NerdWallet — a personal finance and information service.

The rankings are determined by information analyzed from the U.S. Census Bureau's county business patterns and data on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.

Of the 50 states, Georgia ranked as the No. 9 most entrepreneurial state with the No. 1 largest average SBA loan in 2014-2015 and the No. 5 highest growth in number of SBA loans from 2012-2015.

Here are the top ten most entrepreneural states in America:

1. Utah

2. Colorado

3. California

4. Connecticut

5. New York

6. Washington

7. Florida

8. Washington, D.C.

9. Georgia

10. Massachusetts

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Atlanta civil rights leader and international human rights activist Joe Beasley, pictured in 2011, died Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, at age 88. (Curtis Compton/AJC 2011 )

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