State rankings

Best State To Incorporate In

Wyoming ranks 1st on Overall Rank, followed by South Dakota (2nd) and Alaska (3rd); rank 1 is the best. New Jersey ranks last (50th).

LawTech & Business51 states · 7 metricsUpdated Mar 17, 2023Original page
3 sources
51 of 51 states
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Overall Rank

Green is better, red is worse (rank 1 is the best). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 51 ranked

Best first; rank 1 is the best and has the longest bar.

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

51 states · # = rank by Overall Rank
#
1Wyoming1st1st1st6th34th28th
2South Dakota2nd1st1st34th14th37th
3Alaska3rd28th1st5th26th44th
4Florida4th10th1st21st12th3rd
5Montana5th22nd24th3rd21st18th
6New Hampshire6th44th9th1st43rd45th
7Nevada7th25th5th44th5th46th
8Utah8th14th10th22nd8th16th
9Indiana9th11th15th19th2nd27th
10North Carolina10th5th17th20th13th10th
11Missouri11th3rd21st26th7th4th
12Michigan12th20th12th11th25th8th
13Texas13th47th7th37th38th12th
14Tennessee14th45th6th46th33rd21st
15Idaho15th26th19th10th3rd47th
16Delaware16th50th44th2nd4th2nd
17North Dakota17th9th27th28th9th7th
18Kentucky18th15th18th14th24th48th
19Arizona19th23rd16th41st11th14th
20West Virginia20th16th29th18th10th26th
21Colorado21st7th14th40th36th42nd
22New Mexico22nd12th36th35th1st9th
23Oklahoma23rd4th31st39th30th1st
24Oregon24th49th42nd4th20th36th
25Kansas25th21st22nd25th17th15th
26Virginia26th17th34th12th29th39th
27Wisconsin27th31st38th7th15th31st
28Washington28th37th8th49th22nd25th
29Nebraska29th30th32nd9th39th11th
30Mississippi30th13th26th33rd37th5th
31South Carolina31st6th28th32nd35th29th
32Georgia32nd8th35th31st28th35th
33Pennsylvania33rd42nd20th16th16th22nd
34Massachusetts34th36th11th13th46th50th
35Maine35th35th23rd8th47th38th
36Illinois36th38th13th38th44th43rd
37Ohio37th39th41st36th6th13th
38Iowa38th34th40th15th40th33rd
39Louisiana39th32nd25th48th23rd6th
40Arkansas40th29th37th45th27th20th
41Alabama41st18th30th50th18th19th
42Rhode Island42nd40th33rd24th41st49th
43Hawaii43rd19th46th27th32nd30th
44Vermont44th41st39th17th48th17th
45Minnesota45th43rd43rd29th31st34th
46Maryland46th33rd45th30th42nd41st
47Connecticut47th27th47th23rd50th23rd
48California48th46th49th47th19th24th
48District of Columbia48th29th48th39th49th38th
50New York49th24th50th43rd49th40th
51New Jersey50th48th48th42nd45th32nd

What correlates with Overall Rank?

Pearson r against 2,091 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that rank better on Overall Rank tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Local Taxes RankBest States to RetireA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.93 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Overall Freedom RankMost Libertarian StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Overall Freedom ScoreMost Libertarian States
    r = −0.70 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  4. State Freedom ScoreState Powers
    r = −0.68 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  5. Freedom RankMost Free StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.67 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Suicide RateSuicide Rates by State
    r = −0.64 · strong · n = 50
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that rank better on Overall Rank tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Local Effective Tax RateHighest Taxed States
    r = +0.74 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Taxes Paid To Own State Per CapitaTax Burden by State
    r = +0.68 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. % of Registered DemocratsRegistered Voters by Party
    r = +0.67 · strong · n = 31
    Plot
  4. Total State TaxesCigarette Prices by State
    r = +0.62 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  5. Local Tax Burden Per CapitaHighest Taxed States
    r = +0.62 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Lean DemocratsPolitical Parties by State
    r = +0.61 · strong · n = 51
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state ranks first on Overall Rank?
Wyoming ranks first on Overall Rank, at 1st, followed by South Dakota (2nd) and Alaska (3rd). Rank 1 is the best state.
Which state ranks last on Overall Rank?
New Jersey ranks last of the 51 US states with data, at 50th.
Where does this best state to incorporate in data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Max Fillings; Tax Foundation; Tax Foundation - Overall and component tax ranks.