South Dakota Most Entrepreneur Friendly State Says Report

South Dakota is the most entrepreneur friendly state in the nation, according to a new report.

Thursday, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council released its 19th annual "Small Business Policy Index 2014: Ranking the States on Policy Measures and Costs Impacting Small Business and Entrepreneurship."

The Index ranks the 50 states according to 42 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending measurements.

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The most entrepreneur-friendly states under the "Small Business Policy Index 2014" are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Texas, 4) Wyoming, 5) Florida, 6) Washington, 7) Alabama, 8) Indiana, 9) Colorado, 10) North Dakota, 11) Ohio, 12) Arizona, 13) Utah, 14) Michigan, and 15) Virginia.

"Top-tier policy states like Texas, Nevada, South Dakota, Florida and Wyoming continue to leverage their long-standing policy advantage and are doing things to get even better," said SBE council president and CEO Karen Kerrigan.

In contrast, according to the Index, the most negative policy environments for entrepreneurs are: 40) Rhode Island, 41) Connecticut, 42) Maine, 43) Iowa, 44) Oregon, 45) Vermont, 46) Minnesota, 47) Hawaii, 48) New York, 49) New Jersey, and 50) California.

Download the "Small Business Policy Index 2014"report.

SBE Council says it is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy, research and education organization that works to protect small business and promote entrepreneurship.