US States Ranked by Potential to Quit Your Day Job

It is the goal of many small business entrepreneurs to quit their day jobs. LaunchScore has compiled a list US states ranked by potential entrepreneur success, or how likely it is that you can quit your day job in the near future. The results may surprise you.

LaunchScore.com estimates the potential yearly earnings (PYE) of nearly 1 million small business opportunities across the United States. To rank the states by potential entrepreneur success, we calculated the mean PYE for each state, and then subtracted that from the current median income in each state. The amounts were rounded to the nearest thousand for ease of viewing.

The difference indicates how much more or less than the median income a new small business can potentially make. This difference is a reasonable indicator whether you can then quit working and enjoy the fruits of your success or focus completely on your business.

We do realize there are other factors at play that determine potential entrepreneur success, such as individual differences. However, we believe this ranking illustrates places where there is a lot of small business potential, and a closer look at the business opportunities in the cities in these states should be considered.

Where Does Your State Rank?

To see where your state ranks, take a look at the map included in this blog post. A description of each color ranking is outlined below.

To see the full list of US states ranked by potential entrepreneur success, check the table at the end of this article. Note that the states of Alaska and Vermont are not included, because our current data does not include cities in these US states. However, we did include Washington, DC in the ranked results.

If you interested in what are the top small business opportunities in your city, you can perform a search of your own on LaunchScore.com.

Green States Are Where It's At

These states have the strongest potential for entrepreneur success. Small businesses in states such as Connecticut, Michigan, and Maryland are estimated to potentially earn substantially more (from $25,000 to $48,000) than the current median income in these states.

Blue States Are Not Sad

These states have an above average potential for success. If you were to open a small business in Massachusetts, Georgia, or Texas, it could potentially pay more than the median income of most jobs, but not by that large a margin. Around $16,000 to $25,000 more per year.

Yellow States Are Not Shining Bright

In states such as Nebraska, Indiana, and Nevada, there is a lower than average level of potential success. Most jobs in these states generally pay just a bit less than an entrepreneurship. An entrepreneurship could potentially make $10,000 to $16,000 more than the median income in these states.

Red States (No, I Don't Mean Republican)

These states currently have the weakest potential for entrepreneur success. For instance, in Ohio and Delaware, small businesses are expected on average to make less than the median income of residents. Thus, for most people, having a job is currently more attractive than starting a business.

Rank	State	Color	Mean PYE	Median Income	Difference
1	Maryland	Green	$86,000	$38,000	$48,000
2	Michigan	Green	$62,000	$25,000	$37,000
3	Utah	Green	$76,000	$41,000	$34,000
4	Idaho	Green	$71,000	$41,000	$30,000
5	California	Green	$75,000	$46,000	$29,000
6	Iowa	Green	$70,000	$41,000	$28,000
7	Connecticut	Green	$63,000	$35,000	$28,000
8	Florida	Green	$55,000	$28,000	$27,000
9	Maine	Green	$72,000	$45,000	$27,000
10	Minnesota	Green	$73,000	$46,000	$26,000
11	Montana	Blue	$68,000	$43,000	$24,000
12	Illinois	Blue	$68,000	$43,000	$24,000
13	Tennessee	Blue	$59,000	$34,000	$24,000
14	Arkansas	Blue	$65,000	$40,000	$24,000
15	Colorado	Blue	$71,000	$47,000	$24,000
16	District of Columbia	Blue	$87,000	$63,000	$23,000
17	New Jersey	Blue	$55,000	$31,000	$23,000
18	South Carolina	Blue	$61,000	$39,000	$22,000
19	Kansas	Blue	$66,000	$44,000	$22,000
20	Wyoming	Blue	$76,000	$54,000	$21,000
21	Texas	Blue	$64,000	$42,000	$21,000
22	Wisconsin	Blue	$54,000	$33,000	$21,000
23	Arizona	Blue	$65,000	$43,000	$21,000
24	Rhode Island	Blue	$57,000	$37,000	$19,000
25	Georgia	Blue	$63,000	$43,000	$19,000
26	Louisiana	Blue	$54,000	$35,000	$19,000
27	Mississippi	Blue	$50,000	$31,000	$18,000
28	New Mexico	Blue	$61,000	$43,000	$17,000
29	Massachusetts	Blue	$66,000	$49,000	$17,000
30	North Dakota	Blue	$60,000	$44,000	$16,000
31	Nevada	Yellow	$62,000	$46,000	$15,000
32	Indiana	Yellow	$54,000	$39,000	$15,000
33	Nebraska	Yellow	$60,000	$45,000	$14,000
34	South Dakota	Yellow	$65,000	$50,000	$14,000
35	Kentucky	Yellow	$47,000	$33,000	$14,000
36	Missouri	Yellow	$57,000	$43,000	$13,000
37	Alabama	Yellow	$56,000	$43,000	$13,000
38	New Hampshire	Yellow	$64,000	$51,000	$13,000
39	West Virginia	Yellow	$62,000	$48,000	$13,000
40	Oklahoma	Yellow	$56,000	$42,000	$13,000
41	Hawaii	Yellow	$69,000	$57,000	$12,000
42	Oregon	Yellow	$59,000	$47,000	$11,000
43	Washington	Yellow	$72,000	$61,000	$11,000
44	North Carolina	Red	$57,000	$50,000	$7,000
45	Pennsylvania	Red	$41,000	$34,000	$7,000
46	New York	Red	$54,000	$49,000	$4,000
47	Virginia	Red	$68,000	$64,000	$3,000
48	Ohio	Red	$39,000	$40,000	-$1,000
49	Delaware	Red	$34,000	$38,000	-$4,000

US States Ranked by Potential to Quit Your Day Job See more on: http://www.launchscore.com

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