2017 Best (And Worst) States For Solution Provider Competition

Competitive Situation

States that rank high on our annual Best States analysis are attractive because they have strong economic growth, low taxes, innovative business climates and educated workforces. But those attributes also likely mean there are already many solution providers competing to serve the businesses and organizations within such states – making it difficult for a solution provider startup to gain foothold.

This year's Best States analysis looked at how much competition a startup solution provider can expect from established solution providers in each state.

The Solution Provider Competitive Saturation Index is based on The Channel Company's solution provider database and calculates the number of potential business customers per solution provider in each state. The state ranked No. 1 is the most favorable for solution provider startups and No. 50 has the most competition.

Keep in mind that the saturation index often runs counter to other business climate criteria: States with otherwise poor business climate scores, many of them more rural states, have fewer solution providers that a startup has to compete against.

Best States No. 10: Hawaii

The Aloha State has only 463 solution providers.

Best States No. 9: Mississippi

The Magnolia State has only 461 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 8: Rhode Island

The Ocean State has only 416 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 7: Montana

The Treasure State has only 383 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 6: Alaska

The Frontier State has only 291 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 5: West Virginia

The Mountain State has only 262 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 4: Vermont

The Green Mountain State has only 254 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 3: South Dakota

The Mount Rushmore State has only 242 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 2: North Dakota

The Peace Garden State has only 208 solution provider businesses.

Best States No. 1: Wyoming

The Cowboy State has only 192 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 41: Massachusetts

The Bay State has 4,628 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 42: Pennsylvania

The Keystone State has 5,424 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 43: Illinois

The Prairie State has 6,126 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 44: Georgia

The Peach State has 6,186 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 45: New Jersey

The Garden State has 6,654 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 46: Virginia

The Old Dominion State has 7,199 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 47: New York

The Empire State has 8,958 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 48: Florida

Florida was No. 1 overall in this year's analysis, given its low taxes and other business friendly attributes. But the Sunshine State already has 10,320 solution providers competing to serve the state's businesses, so startups need to be ready to compete hard.

Worst States No. 49: Texas

The Lone Star State has 11,621 solution provider businesses.

Worst States No. 50: California

The Golden State may be No. 1 in technology in many ways, but it also has 22,533 solution providers, making it the toughest competitive state in which to start a solution provider business.