For every business that closed in Nevada last year, about 1.3 businesses opened.

This ratio, of opening to closing of businesses, makes Nevada best state to open a small businessaccording to a new study from the AI ​​software company MRPeasy.

“It's interesting to analyze the US states with the highest and lowest rates of small business openings and closings as the report reveals economic trends and growth,” said MRPeasy Director of Business Development Mike Lurye.

The study is drawn from US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy data for the year 2023 to find the number of business openings and closings in each state during the year, calculate the ratio between them, and rank each state in a list. He defined a small business as a company with fewer than 500 employees.

Related: According to a new report, 1 in 5 small and medium-sized businesses could be out of cash by Christmas

Louisiana, meanwhile, was at the bottom of the list as the worst state to start a small business. It was the only state with a negative ratio of business openings to closings, meaning more businesses closed than started in Louisiana last year.

Small businesses likely to fail: US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 65% fail within the first decade. on 60 million Americans are employed by small businesses, according to data from the US Chamber of Commerce, and there are more than 33 million small businesses in the USA One in five small businesses indicate that they only have one to five months of cash reserves on hand for emergencies, according to a recent study.

Here are the best and worst states to open a small business, based on the balance between business openings and closings last year.

Related: Household incomes increase for the first time in 4 years. Here are the countries with the highest earnings.

^{Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo Credit: Getty Images}

The best states

1. Nevada

Small business openings: 18,296

Small business closings: 8,012

Ratio: 1.284

2. Washington

Small business openings: 29,963

Small business closures: 13,419

Ratio: 1.233

3. Vermont

Small business openings: 4,037

Small business closures: 2,133

Ratio: 0.893

4. New Jersey

Small business openings: 45,577

Small business closings: 24,347

Ratio: 0.872

5. Tennessee

Small business openings: 25,753

Small business closures: 14,543

Ratio: 0.771

6. Maine

Small business openings: 7,379

Small business closings: 4,310

Ratio: 0.712

7. South Carolina

Small business openings: 20,872

Small business closures: 12,344

Ratio: 0.691

8. Idaho

Small business openings: 11,426

Small business closures: 6,765

Ratio: 0.689

9. Connecticut

Small business openings: 15,892

Small business closures: 9,598

Ratio: 0.656

10. Rhode Island

Small business openings: 6,343

Small business closings: 3,836

Ratio: 0.654

The lowest ranked states

1. Louisiana

Small business openings: 11,189

Small business closures: 11,998

Ratio: -0.067

2. Oregon

Small business openings: 17,483

Small business closures: 14,795

Ratio: 0.182

3. Missouri

Small business openings: 28,137

Small business closures: 23,579

Ratio: 0.193

4. Montana

Small business openings: 6,585

Small business closings: 5,439

Ratio: 0.211

5. Minnesota

Small business openings: 17,084

Small business closures: 13,879

Ratio: 0.231

6. North Dakota

Small business openings: 2,892

Small business closings: 2,317

Ratio: 0.248

7. New Mexico

Small business openings: 6,786

Small business closings: 5,352

Ratio: 0.268

8. Virginia

Small business openings: 32,318

Small business closures: 25,336

Ratio: 0.276

9. Nebraska

Small business openings: 6,997

Small business closings: 5,485

Ratio: 0.276

10. Iowa

Small business openings: 9,177

Small business closures: 7,138

Ratio: 0.286