Study: R.I. 19th for entrepreneurs, Mass. No. 1

THE OCEAN STATE ranks 19th in the country for entrepreneurship, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
THE OCEAN STATE ranks 19th in the country for entrepreneurship, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

(Updated, Oct.4, 4 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranks 19th among states for entrepreneurship, according to an index released Oct. 2 by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Taking the top spot in the annual state-by-state assessment of entrepreneurial activity was Massachusetts, followed by North Dakota, California, New York and Minnesota.

The index is developed by economists at the university’s Bureau of Business Research and department of economics by measuring a state’s percentage growth and per capita growth of business establishments, its business formation rate, the number of patents per thousand residents, and income per non-farm proprietor in each state.

“This year [the best] states tend to be clustered in the Northeast and the upper Midwest,” said Eric Thompson, a UNL associate professor of economics and director of the bureau, in a statement.

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The index uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IRS Statistics of Income Bulletin, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Statistical Abstract.

Massachusetts garnered a 3.01 score, maintaining its 2010 No. 1 ranking. Rhode Island scored 1.191. The Ocean State also ranked 19th in 2010.

The worst states for entrepreneurs, according to the index, are Louisiana with a score of 0.03 and Michigan, with a score of 0.10.

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