- Maryland is the best state for a side hustle, with a score of 6.19 out of 10 due to the state’s high disposable income per capita, fast internet, high rates of remote work, and low costs for filing an LLC.
- Connecticut and New Jersey are the second and third-best states to start a side hustle, scoring 6.07 and 6.03 out of 10, respectively.
- Alabama is the worst state to start a side hustle, scoring 2.85 out of 10 due to its low disposable income, high LLC filing costs, and low rates of remote work.
New research has revealed that Maryland is the best state to start a side hustle.
Business consulting firm Venture Smarter analyzed four metrics relevant to setting up a side hustle in each state. This included each state’s average LLC filing fees, disposable income per capita, internet speeds, and the number of remote workers.
These metrics were gathered for all 50 states with each scored out of 10 to reveal the most and least expensive states to be an entrepreneur.
The research revealed that Maryland is the best state in America to start a side hustle, with a total score of 6.19 out of 10. The state has the third-highest rate of remote workers at 19.19%, and a relatively high disposable income per capita at $58,642. It costs $100 on average to file an LLC in Maryland, the ninth cheapest filing cost in the country alongside nine other states.
Connecticut ranks second-best to start a side hustle, scoring 6.07 out of 10. The Constitution State has the second-highest disposable income per capita at $67,460 and the second-fastest median download speed at 244.23 MB per second. It costs $120 to file an LLC in Connecticut, the 11th-highest fee, and the state has a remote work rate of 15.88, the 17th highest.
New Jersey scores 6.03 out of 10 and places as the third-best state to start a side hustle. The state has the fifth-highest disposable income per capita at $64,683, and it costs $125 to file an LLC, the thirteenth-highest cost. The state has a remote work rate of 16.68% and fast internet with a median download speed of 234 MB per second, the ninth highest of all 50 states.
North Dakota scores 5.99 out of 10 and places fourth on the list of the best states to run a side hustle. The state has the highest upload speeds at 68.79mb per second, the seventh-highest disposable income per capita at $63,339 and a relatively low LLC filing cost at $135. However, North Dakota has the second-lowest rate of remote work at 7.62%.
Both scoring 5.90 out of 10 and thus tied for fifth place are New Hampshire and Colorado. Colorado has the highest remote work rate at 21.17. The state also has the fourth-highest disposable income per capita at $64,815 and the fourth-lowest LLC filing cost at $50. New Hampshire has the ninth-highest remote work rate of 17.28%, and the sixth-highest disposable income per capita at $64,666. It costs $100 to file an LLC in the state, the ninth-highest cost.
The best states to start a side hustle:
Rhode Island ranks sixth on the list, scoring 5.86 out of 10. The state has the fastest median download speed at 257.48 MB per second, a disposable income of $54,692, and it costs $150 to file an LLC in the state.
California ranks seventh, with a score of 5.78 out of 10. The state is the only one that does not require a cost for filing an LLC. It also has a disposable income per capita of $63,133.
Virginia scores 5.74 out of 10 and is the eighth-best state for starting a side hustle. The state has a disposable income per capita of $58,578 and an LLC filing cost of $100.
Utah scores 5.56 out of 10 and is the ninth-best state for starting a side hustle. The state has the fifth-highest LLC filing cost at $54 and the eighth-highest remote work rate at 17.97.
Delaware rounds out the top ten with a score of 5.25 out of 10. The state has the seventh-highest LLC filing cost at $90 and the fourth-highest download speed at 237.42 MB per second.
Alabama scores 2.85 out of 10 and is the least auspicious state to start a side hustle. The state has the third lowest disposable income per capita at $45,248 and is tied with New York and Washington for the fourth-highest LLC filing costs at $200.
A spokesperson from Venture Smarter commented on the findings:
“Google Trends data shows that the United States’ interest in starting a business has grown by 92.31% over the last three months.
“This data provides a fascinating insight into the states whose residents are best placed to start a side hustle. It considers the economic conditions within each state, as well as other factors that are key to starting a business on a small scale, such as good internet speeds and the ability to work remotely.”
Sources:
LLC Filing Costs, disposable income per capita, internet speed, remote work rates.
Methodology:
After collecting the data from each of the sources, each state was ranked based on a MinMax value that was calculated to give each state a score from 0 to 10. All data points were weighted equally.
Full data table:
