2016 Best (And Worst) States: The Important Factors For Millennials Starting A Solution Provider Business
Where The Millennials (Should) Roam
For the 2016 Best States project, CRN looked at the best and worst states for millennials to consider when starting a solution provider business. The analysis included a range of criteria that were of specific interest to millennials, including quality of life and cost of living factors.
Data included a state's quality of life (CNBC America's Top States for Business 2016), gasoline tax rates (American Petroleum Institute & Tax Foundation), median rent on a two-bedroom apartment (Apartmentlist.com), policies and incentives for renewables and efficiencies (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency), median ages (U.S. Census Bureau), and availability of public transportation (Center for Neighborhood Technology's AllTransit Performance Score).
Also included in the analysis were business factors such as startup rates (2015 Rate of New Entrepreneurs – Kauffman Index Startup Activity by State), venture capital availability (Nerdwallet: Most Entrepreneurial States), and rankings for tech industry employment, tech business establishments and average tech wage (CompTIA Cyberstates Report).
The following are the 10 states with the overall highest rankings for the "millennial factors," listed from No. 10 to No. 1. The states with the overall lowest rankings are then listed from No. 41 to No. 50. We’ve also included some the more interesting data points.
Best States No. 10: Illinois
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 20)
Cost of living rank (with No. 50 most expensive): No. 34
Quality of life rank (with No. 50 the lowest quality): No. 35
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,480
Tech industry employment rank (with No. 1 the highest percentage of total employment): No. 7
Average tech industry wage: $95,062 (rank: No. 15)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $7,397,737
Best States No. 9: Virginia
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 22)
Cost of living rank: No. 30
Quality of life rank: No. 16
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,400
Tech industry employment rank: No. 6
Average tech industry wage: $109,038 (rank: No. 6)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $5,961,662
Best States No. 8: Washington
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 19)
Cost of living rank: No. 37
Quality of life rank: No. 8
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,360
Tech industry employment rank: No. 9
Average tech industry wage: $129,359 (rank: No. 2)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $18,979,397
Best States No. 7: Utah
Median age: 31 (rank: No. 1)
Cost of living rank: No. 22
Quality of life rank: No. 13
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $890
Tech industry employment rank: No. 22
Average tech industry wage: $77,970 (rank: No.34)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $33,747,855
Best States No. 6: Arizona
Median age: 37 (rank: No. 16)
Cost of living rank: No. 31
Quality of life rank: No. 32
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,070
Tech industry employment rank: No. 18
Average tech industry wage: $95,617 (rank: No. 14)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $3,791,347
Best States No. 5: Massachusetts
Median age: 39 (rank: No. 38)
Cost of living rank: No. 44
Quality of life rank: No. 17
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,500
Tech industry employment rank: No. 5
Average tech industry wage: $127, 875 (rank: No. 3)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $78,705,379
Best States No. 4: New York
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 27)
Cost of living rank: No. 49
Quality of life rank: No. 22
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $3,000
Tech industry employment rank: No. 3
Average tech industry wage: $109,193 (rank: No. 5)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $29,987,038
Best States No. 3: California
Median age: 36 (rank: No. 7)
Cost of living rank: No. 47
Quality of life rank: No. 23
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,040
Tech industry employment rank: No. 1
Average tech industry wage: $149,335 (rank: No. 1)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $84,233,988
Best States No. 2: Texas
Median age: 34 (rank: No. 3)
Cost of living rank: No. 21
Quality of life rank: No. 37
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,240
Tech industry employment rank: No. 2
Average tech industry wage: $99,667 (rank: No. 13)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $5,390,080
Best States No. 1: Colorado
Median age: 37 (rank: No. 12)
Cost of living rank: No. 32
Quality of life rank: No. 12
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,470
Tech industry employment rank: No. 13
Average tech industry wage: $106,350 (rank: No. 8)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $17,970,842
Worst States No. 41: Hawaii
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 22)
Cost of living rank: No. 50
Quality of life rank: No. 1
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,200
Tech industry employment rank: No. 44
Average tech industry wage: $79,318 (rank: No. 32)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $100,383
Worst States No. 42: Mississippi
Median age: 37 (rank: No. 13)
Cost of living rank: No. 1
Quality of life rank: No. 44
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $750
Tech industry employment rank: No. 39
Average tech industry wage: $60,397 (rank: No. 49)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $0
Worst States No. 43: Iowa
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 26)
Cost of living rank: No. 12
Quality of life rank: No. 9
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $820
Tech industry employment rank: No. 31
Average tech industry wage: $73,451 (rank: No. 39)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $816,832
Worst States No. 44: Wisconsin
Median age: 39 (rank: No. 35)
Cost of living rank: No. 23
Quality of life rank: No. 15
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $920
Tech industry employment rank: No. 20
Average tech industry wage: $77,591 (rank: No. 36)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $1,504,232
Worst States No. 45: Alabama
Median age: 39 (rank: No. 32)
Cost of living rank: No. 4
Quality of life rank: No. 43
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $730
Tech industry employment rank: No. 24
Average tech industry wage: $80,031 (rank: No. 29)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $224,647
Worst States No. 46: Arkansas
Median age: 38 (rank: No. 24)
Cost of living rank: No. 3
Quality of life rank: No. 50
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $660
Tech industry employment rank: No. 38
Average tech industry wage: $67,637 (rank: No. 44)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $731,504
Worst States No. 47: Tennessee
Median age: 39 (rank: No. 31)
Cost of living rank: No. 5
Quality of life rank: No. 46
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $900
Tech industry employment rank: No. 25
Average tech industry wage: $76,333 (rank: No. 37)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $2,398,019
Worst States No. 48: Rhode Island
Median age: 40 (rank: No. 42)
Cost of living rank: No. 43
Quality of life rank: No. 24
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,300
Tech industry employment rank: No. 41
Average tech industry wage: $81,071 (rank: No. 26)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $7,276,323
Worst States No. 49: Maine
Median age: 45 (rank: No. 50)
Cost of living rank: No. 39
Quality of life rank: No. 5
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,320
Tech industry employment rank: No. 42
Average tech industry wage: $71,304 (rank: No. 41)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $1,489,600
Worst States No. 50: West Virginia
Median age: 42 (rank: No. 47)
Cost of living rank: No. 13
Quality of life rank: No. 40
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $690
Tech industry employment rank: No. 43
Average tech industry wage: $64,200 (rank: No. 48)
Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $0