Idaho, Texas among friendliest for SMBs, finds survey

Also among the winners for 'friendliest to SMBs' states were Oklahoma and Utah. Meanwhile SMB owners offered California, Hawaii, Vermont and Rhode Island the lowest scores when it comes to friendliness; New York was also near the bottom. Why are these states near the top - and bottom, respectively? Taxes, for one.

SMBs reported Idaho, Nevada and Delaware as having business-friendly tax codes. Another indicator of how happy businesses were in their respective states was the licensing requirements state to state.

"Six thousand small business owners have told an unusually nuanced story about what they value in their state or city government," said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack. "Although Texas and Idaho clearly come out on top as the nation's friendliest states towards small business, entrepreneurs value a lot more than just low tax rates. Easy-to-understand licensing regulations and well-publicized training programs are often overlooked as critical tools necessary to support small business."

Researchers also found the 'friendly' rating correlated with statewide support of small businesses - including programs to help SMBs with training and other issues.

"Asking entrepreneurs to rank state friendliness to their businesses is a powerful resource for helping policymakers understand the needs of business owners and for helping aspiring founders understand the full dimensions of their business environment," said Dane Stangler, director of research at the Kauffman Foundation.

Small businesses also reported state licensing requirements were more important than actual tax rates.

Tags: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, online business, small business trends, SMB trends, Thumbtack