Georgia is one of the “friendliest” states in the country for small businesses, and Atlanta is one of the friendliest cities, according to a new survey of small business owners released Tuesday.
Atlanta and Georgia each received an overall friendliness grade of A- in the survey, done for Thumbtack.com, an online broker for local consumer service providers, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private foundation that promotes entrepreneurship.
Georgia ranked 10th in the nation for the second year in a row in the survey which assessed states and cities in 10 different categories: ease of starting a business; ease of hiring; licensing; regulations; health and safety; tax code; employment, labor and hiring; environmental; zoning; and training and networking.
Georgia rated an A- in environmental and in zoning, a B+ in ease of starting a business, and a B in ease of hiring, regulations and tax code. It received a B- in health and safety, and in employment, labor and hiring, a C+ in licensing, and a C in training and networking.
The survey took two months and included data from more than 12,000 small business owners.
The top rated states overall were Utah, Idaho, Texas, Virginia and Louisiana.
The lowest rated were Rhode Island, Illinois, California, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Atlanta’s lowest grade from small business owners, a C+, came in training and networking programs, described in the report as, “one of the strongest determinants of overall friendliness …”
The city scored an A- in zoning, however, and B- or better in all other categories.
The top rated U.S. cities in the survey were Colorado Springs, Boise, Houston, Austin, and Louisville. The lowest rated were Sacramento, Providence, Buffalo, Bridgeport and San Diego.
