Connecticut Ranked #13 Nationally in Entrepreneurial Growth

A new study has ranked Connecticut as the 13th best state for entrepreneurs in 2025, marking a sizable jump of 29 spots compared to last year’s rankings.   Among other states in the region this year, Maine ranked at #3, Rhode Island at #7, Vermont at #9, New Hampshire at #12, and Massachusetts at #15.  New York was at #32 and New Jersey at #23.

The data indicated that Connecticut ranked 5th in consumer spending growth, with a 5.2% increase.  The state also benefited from the lowest regional inflation growth in the country (18%, compared to 14.3% last year).

 Despite a sharp decline in new business growth (down 6.5 points to 0.7%, ranking No. 17), it still outperformed many other states in this area.

Overall, New England states climbed in the rankings this year (Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine) largely because of increases in job creation and consumer spending growth, the analysis pointed out.

Simplify LLC released its annual study on the Best & Worst States for Entrepreneurs in 2025 using the most recent data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Tax Foundation, and the U.S. Senate.  The rankings were determined by analyzing six key categories in all 50 states and D.C.: corporate tax rate, inflation, consumer spending growth, job creation rate, and net migration of educated workers.

In 2024, 430,000 entrepreneurs opened new businesses every month, a level that surged 50 percent since 2019, according to the US Treasury Department. The 10 Best States for Entrepreneurs were Washington, Texas, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Florida, Rhode Island, Colorado, Vermont, Hawaii

Overall, 70% of new jobs since 2019 have come from small businesses.  The survey analysis described American entrepreneurship as “booming, with unprecedented growth and generational shifts driving new opportunities.”  Simplify LLC noted that the Treasury Department reports that 430,000 new businesses opened each month in 2024, a 50% increase since 2019. Innovations like remote work, the gig economy, and AI are fueling this transformation, they pointed out, creating entrepreneurial hot spots across the nation.

The leading sectors for new business included retail (including e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores), professional, scientific and technical services, such as legal and accounting, and construction, both residential and non-residential.

“Today, the entrepreneurial landscape is far less geographically concentrated with many people choosing to live in places with lower taxes and a better cost of living,” the analysis points out, noting that job creation stayed on a positive trajectory across the US, with all states reporting improvements over the year before. Hawaii, Nevada, and Washington, D.C., saw the biggest percentage point increases year-over-year, while growth was slowest in Delaware, Utah and Kansas.