Mississippi has the least amount of people looking to start a small business in 2024, according to a Jan. 16 report from business information site The Small Business Blog.
The site analyzed search data from Google Keyword Planner for more than 100 terms related to the phrases "side hustle" and "small business."
The average number of monthly searches for these 100 search terms were calculated for each state as a proportion of 100,000 residents.
Residents in Mississippi were least frequently looking to begin a new business in 2024, with 202 searches on average every month per 100,000 people, according to a release sent to Becker's.
In contrast, residents in Utah were most frequently looking to start a new small business.
The 10 states where small businesses are expected to grow the slowest this year:
1. Mississippi
2. New Mexico
3. Alaska
4. West Virginia
5. Alabama
6. Vermont
7. Maine
8. Montana
9. South Dakota
10. Louisiana