Pennsylvania is the fifth-worst state in the union to start a new business, according to a recent survey by wallethub .com, a personal finance website.
In compiling its report, WalletHub analysts — which included business professors at Georgetown University and Case Western University — compared each state with 20 key indicators of startup success that included average growth of a small business, labor costs, office-space affordability as well as cost of living.
Analysts then placed and ranked the information in three categories: business environment, access to resources and business costs. These groupings included the examination of length of work week, startups per capita, financing accessibility and corporate taxes.
Pennsylvania was ranked below Connecticut at 44th and above Hawaii at 46th. North Dakota was first on the list, while New Jersey was the worst.
The study found Pennsylvania was 43rd in business environment, 19th in resources and 38 in costs. By comparison, West Virginia was 22nd, Ohio, 29th, and Maryland, 48th.
“Selective statistics can be misleading,” said Mark Lennon, associate professor of management at California University of Pennsylvania.
“In this same study, North Dakota is rated as number one, due to their energy boom, but already that boom is declining.
In similar studies by CNBC and Forbes, the Keystone State ranks much higher due to our strengths in technology, innovation, and education.
But our rankings are hurt in all these studies by demographics: an aging population and less young people…