Business Market Risk & Survival Statistics by State

Entry risk scores across 51 U.S. markets range from 33.1 (Nebraska) to 54.2 (Hawaii). Rankings combine Census Bureau establishment data with BLS employment and wage figures across ten major NAICS sectors.

Cross-Industry Entry Risk by State

Average entry risk across all ten tracked industries. Click any state for a full breakdown.

Entry Risk by State Alaska — 41.9 · #26 Alabama — 37.6 · #6 Arkansas — 38.6 · #10 Arizona — 46.3 · #35 California — 50.4 · #47 Colorado — 50.1 · #46 Connecticut — 46.7 · #38 District of Columbia — 51.2 · #49 Delaware — 43.6 · #29 Florida — 50.8 · #48 Georgia — 46.8 · #39 Hawaii — 54.2 · #51 Iowa — 35.5 · #5 Idaho — 41.6 · #24 Illinois — 46.3 · #36 Indiana — 38.4 · #7 Kansas — 41.9 · #27 Kentucky — 39.4 · #11 Louisiana — 44.5 · #30 Massachusetts — 40.6 · #19 Maryland — 41.8 · #25 Maine — 40.0 · #14 Michigan — 40.5 · #18 Minnesota — 39.5 · #13 Missouri — 47.8 · #41 Mississippi — 41.2 · #22 Montana — 44.9 · #32 North Carolina — 39.4 · #12 North Dakota — 40.4 · #17 Nebraska — 33.1 · #1 New Hampshire — 40.0 · #15 New Jersey — 46.3 · #37 New Mexico — 47.2 · #40 Nevada — 49.3 · #44 New York — 52.7 · #50 Ohio — 38.5 · #8 Oklahoma — 44.9 · #33 Oregon — 48.2 · #42 Pennsylvania — 33.6 · #3 Rhode Island — 38.5 · #9 South Carolina — 40.6 · #20 South Dakota — 33.5 · #2 Tennessee — 41.1 · #21 Texas — 44.9 · #34 Utah — 42.7 · #28 Virginia — 41.3 · #23 Vermont — 44.7 · #31 Washington — 49.6 · #45 Wisconsin — 33.9 · #4 West Virginia — 40.2 · #16 Wyoming — 49.0 · #43
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2026 State Leaderboard

Lowest Avg Entry Risk

  1. Nebraska 33.1
  2. South Dakota 33.5
  3. Pennsylvania 33.6
  4. Wisconsin 33.9
  5. Iowa 35.5

Highest Avg Entry Risk

  1. Hawaii 54.2
  2. New York 52.7
  3. District of Columbia 51.2
  4. Florida 50.8
  5. California 50.4

Northeast

Pennsylvania PA 33.6
302,728 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (24.46) , Administrative and Support Services (25.28) , Construction (28.4)
Rhode Island RI 38.5
39,734 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (28.32) , Professional Services (35.25) , Healthcare (36)
Maine ME 40
48,107 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (24.6) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (28.25) , Construction (35.45)
New Hampshire NH 40
49,803 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (28.75) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (29.64) , Construction (32.59)
Massachusetts MA 40.6
238,619 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (27.73) , Accommodation & Food (28.37) , Administrative and Support Services (35.41)
Vermont VT 44.7
25,208 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (30.12) , Healthcare (36.69) , Construction (40.05)
New Jersey NJ 46.3
244,586 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (37.29) , Administrative and Support Services (40.99) , Accommodation & Food (43.25)
Connecticut CT 46.7
118,722 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (30.93) , Administrative and Support Services (32.09) , Accommodation & Food (37.31)
New York NY 52.7
514,413 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (37.64) , Administrative and Support Services (47.64) , Healthcare (48.24)

Midwest

Nebraska NE 33.1
57,326 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (21.37) , Healthcare (23.69) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (26.3)
South Dakota SD 33.5
29,394 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (21.71) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (26.4) , Other Services (28.94)
Wisconsin WI 33.9
153,073 establishments
Safest sectors: Construction (25.05) , Administrative and Support Services (25.18) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (26.01)
Iowa IA 35.5
81,012 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (22.1) , Healthcare (26.67) , Professional Services (31.07)
Indiana IN 38.4
145,861 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (30.17) , Healthcare (31.22) , Administrative and Support Services (33.46)
Ohio OH 38.5
260,808 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (29.29) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (33.18) , Other Services (35.8)
Minnesota MN 39.5
161,871 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (30.97) , Administrative and Support Services (34.24) , Accommodation & Food (34.9)
North Dakota ND 40.4
25,188 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (26.24) , Information (28.81) , Accommodation & Food (29.5)
Michigan MI 40.5
231,140 establishments
Safest sectors: Construction (28.03) , Accommodation & Food (29.24) , Administrative and Support Services (33.15)
Kansas KS 41.9
74,977 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (34.01) , Accommodation & Food (34.23) , Information (37.63)
Illinois IL 46.3
295,142 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (39.49) , Professional Services (42.57) , Healthcare (43.56)
Missouri MO 47.8
196,432 establishments
Safest sectors: Information (36.83) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (39.19) , Administrative and Support Services (43.79)

South

Alabama AL 37.6
125,416 establishments
Safest sectors: Professional Services (29.41) , Construction (30.28) , Administrative and Support Services (31.66)
Arkansas AR 38.6
79,159 establishments
Safest sectors: Information (30.02) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (30.49) , Construction (34.31)
Kentucky KY 39.4
124,077 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (30.31) , Information (32.6) , Professional Services (35.73)
North Carolina NC 39.4
303,767 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (23.35) , Healthcare (33.02) , Professional Services (37.81)
West Virginia WV 40.2
47,880 establishments
Safest sectors: Other Services (32.67) , Accommodation & Food (33.66) , Professional Services (34.42)
South Carolina SC 40.6
151,810 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (29.2) , Healthcare (31.46) , Professional Services (34.72)
Tennessee TN 41.1
176,125 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (29.54) , Construction (34.79) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (37.17)
Mississippi MS 41.2
68,556 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (29.98) , Administrative and Support Services (31.26) , Professional Services (33.41)
Virginia VA 41.3
256,181 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (33.61) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (35.6) , Information (36.21)
Maryland MD 41.8
163,606 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (31.71) , Administrative and Support Services (32.62) , Construction (35.03)
Delaware DE 43.6
37,849 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (19.75) , Professional Services (38.86) , Retail (41.76)
Louisiana LA 44.5
121,447 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (34.61) , Professional Services (36.39) , Other Services (41.93)
Oklahoma OK 44.9
99,223 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (32.91) , Accommodation & Food (35.02) , Information (40.21)
Texas TX 44.9
667,232 establishments
Safest sectors: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (41.35) , Information (41.46) , Retail (41.62)
Georgia GA 46.8
280,509 establishments
Safest sectors: Construction (42.11) , Healthcare (43.32) , Administrative and Support Services (43.39)
Florida FL 50.8
711,113 establishments
Safest sectors: Professional Services (38.16) , Information (46.54) , Healthcare (47.18)
District of Columbia DC 51.2
46,350 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (27.85) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (38.46) , Administrative and Support Services (41.2)

West

Idaho ID 41.6
79,687 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (26.19) , Healthcare (29.81) , Professional Services (34.94)
Alaska AK 41.9
18,456 establishments
Safest sectors: Information (31.49) , Accommodation & Food (31.63) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (34.86)
Utah UT 42.7
111,878 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (22.86) , Accommodation & Food (36.53) , Construction (40.06)
Montana MT 44.9
47,720 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (32.99) , Information (33.23) , Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (37.45)
Arizona AZ 46.3
173,271 establishments
Safest sectors: Construction (38.63) , Professional Services (41.23) , Healthcare (44.09)
New Mexico NM 47.2
53,385 establishments
Safest sectors: Accommodation & Food (24.49) , Retail (39.91) , Administrative and Support Services (44.65)
Oregon OR 48.2
145,043 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (30.36) , Accommodation & Food (42.76) , Retail (42.9)
Wyoming WY 49
23,185 establishments
Safest sectors: Healthcare (36.38) , Professional Services (36.46) , Information (42.24)
Nevada NV 49.3
73,141 establishments
Safest sectors: Retail (37.02) , Healthcare (37.22) , Construction (39.79)
Washington WA 49.6
191,414 establishments
Safest sectors: Retail (42.03) , Administrative and Support Services (42.23) , Accommodation & Food (42.92)
Colorado CO 50.1
201,640 establishments
Safest sectors: Retail (42.87) , Professional Services (46.38) , Information (46.67)
California CA 50.4
1,582,555 establishments
Safest sectors: Administrative and Support Services (41.97) , Retail (44.02) , Finance and Insurance (46.86)
Hawaii HI 54.2
41,155 establishments
Safest sectors: Professional Services (33.76) , Finance and Insurance (37.02) , Healthcare (50.16)