Washington Earns a C+ For Small Business Friendliness, A+ for Training and Networking Programs

WA Governments Barely Passing, Need Improvement in Attitude Towards Small Business

Small business owners in Washington gave the state one of the country's highest marks for local training programs, but found its regulatory environment challenging, according to Thumbtack’s annual Small Business Friendliness Survey. Complete results for Washington are

published at https://www.thumbtack.com/wa/.

Nearly 18,000 U.S. small business owners responded to the survey, including 488 in Washington. The study asked respondents to rate their state and city governments across a broad range of policy factors. Thumbtack then evaluated states and cities against one another along more than a dozen metrics.

“Small business owners on Thumbtack have consistently told us that they welcome support from their governments but are frequently frustrated by unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles,” said Jon Lieber, Chief Economist of Thumbtack. “Washington-based small business owners love their state's support, but want to see some improvement on the regulatory front to make their lives easier.”

“I love doing business where I live,” commented a piano instructor in Seattle. “Setting up a business is easy and encouraged.”

Key Findings for Washington:

• Washington performed better in 2015 than it did in 2014, when it ranked #25 and earned a C overall.
• Washington's highest scores were an A+ for training and networking programs and an A- for ease of starting a business.
• Seattle, WA earned a B- for overall business friendliness, outperforming Tacoma's overall C grade.
• Washington's worst scores were D+ grades for both tax and labor regulations.
• Neighboring Oregon earned an overall friendliness score of a B and ranked #18 nationally.