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Kansas Gets 'A' Grade For Small Business-Friendly Practices

Kansas received an "A" grade again this year from Thumbtack.com's Small Business Survey. The grade was the seventh highest in the country.

The survey bases its grades on data gathered from a nationwide group of more than 7,000 small business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs in order to rank the best places in the country to do business. The rankings were released in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation.

Kansas received its overall A grade thanks to a strong showing in several categories:

  • Kansas scored an "A" for ease of starting a new business.
  • The state also ranked highly in its licensing and environmental regulations, with an "A-" in those categories.
  • Kansas received "B+" rankings in the categories of employment, labor and hiring and zoning regulations.
  • The state received its lowest marks- C's, for ease of hiring and training and networking programs.

One Wichita photographer who participated in the survey said, “I think they could lower costs by doing more things electronically and offering training programs for new business owners free of charge.”
A Wichita retailer interviewed for the survey said operating a small business in Kansas was easy, but "finding people willing to work for a reasonable wage is almost impossible."  

Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George was pleased with the survey.  He says  the rankings are a sign "we’re creating the business environment needed to help small businesses grow and succeed in the state.”

 Utah was the top-rated state in the survey, and Rhode Island was rated the lowest, with an "F" grade.

View an interactive map of survey results by state.

When she's not out making lattes in her mobile coffee bus Sunflower Espresso, Kate Hutchens is a fill-in host for KMUW. She has worked in broadcast journalism at KFDI, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and at KMUW as Morning Edition host, which she did until March 2017.