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Texas ranks as 5th best state for women entrepreneurs in new survey
Texas is among the best states for women-led startups in 2023, a new report says.
The Lone Star State landed at No. 5 in Merchant Maverick’s annual ranking of the top 10 states for female business owners, thanks in part to its robust venture capital environment for entrepreneurs.
Texas actually dropped three spots from last year's ranking of No. 2, but climbed up from its No. 6 showing in 2021.
Merchant Maverick, a product comparison site for small businesses, says Texas “boasts the strongest venture capital scene” for women entrepreneurs outside California and the Northeast. The state ranked fourth in that category, with $6.5 billion invested in the past five years.
Other factors favoring Texas include:
- Women solely lead 22 percent of all employees working for a business in Texas (No. 4).
- Texas lacks a state income tax (tied for No. 1).
However, Texas didn’t fare well in terms of the unemployment rate (No. 36) and the rate of business ownership by women (No. 29). Other Texas data includes:
- Average income for women business owners, $52,059 (No. 19).
- Early startup survival rate, 81.9 percent (No. 18).
Appearing ahead of Texas in the 2023 ranking are No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 California, and No. 4 Arizona.
Another recent ranking, this one from NorthOne, an online bank catering to small businesses, puts Texas at No. 7 among the 10 best states for women entrepreneurs.
NorthOne says Texas provides “a ton of opportunities” for woman entrepreneurs. For instance, it notches one of the highest numbers of women-owned businesses in the country at 1.4 million, 2.1 percent of which have at least 500 employees.
In this study, Texas is preceded by Colorado at No. 1, Nevada at No. 2, Virginia at No. 3, Maryland at No. 4, Florida at No. 5, and New Mexico at No. 6. The rankings are based on eight metrics, including the percentage of woman-owned businesses and the percentage of women-owned businesses with at least 500 employees.
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This story originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.