States That Are Least Supportive of Black-Owned Businesses

It comes as no surprise that many states are less than supportive when it comes to black-owned businesses. So we wanted to look into which states exactly aren’t supportive. With only 7% of businesses in America being black-owned, we found out which states are not supporting the growth of that percent.

States Least Supportive of Black-Owned Businesses

All of these states have surprising low numbers surrounding their ranking from the number of black businesses to low percentages of black residents with a bachelor’s degree, but more on that in a minute. If you didn’t see your state on the list, maybe it’s because you live in a supportive community. Don’t forget to check the table below to see just how supportive, or unsupportive, your state is.

How We Determined The Least Supportive States For Black Businesses

We looked at four factors to determine the worst states for black business owners:

Number of black owned businesses per capita
The amount of people employed by black owned businesses
Percent of black residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher
The percent of black workers who work in management and business

The first factor we examined was the number of black-owned businesses per capita, using data from the Census’ Annual Business Survey.

After that, we pulled in the number of workers employed by black businesses to gauge the size
and the success of those businesses.

However, businesses don’t grow in a vacuum. We then looked at the percent of black residents with a bachelors’ degree of higher from the ACS.

Finally, using the trusty ACS data, we examined the percent of black workers who work in management and business.

Due to too small of sample size in the Small Business Survey, Wyoming, Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine were excluded from our rankings.

1. South Dakota

Education: 6
Black-Owned Businesses: 33
Number of Employees: 166

South Dakota properly ranks at No. 1 as being the least supportive state for black-owned businesses as it has the lowest percentage of black residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher in the U.S. Only 6% of black residents in the state have earned a bachelor’s degree. South Dakota only supports 33 black-owned businesses, which is also one of the lowest numbers in the country.

2. North Dakota

Education: 15
Black-Owned Businesses: 97
Number of Employees: 317

Of the 97 black-owned businesses in North Dakota, there are only 317 employees making North Dakota the second least supportive state. The state also has a low track record for the percentage of black residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher coming in at 14.8%.

3. Iowa

Education: 19
Black-Owned Businesses: 196
Number of Employees: 1,447

Iowa comes in as the third least supportive state of black-owned businesses. The state’s 196 businesses gives it the fourth lowest number in the country.

4. Idaho

Education: 7
Black-Owned Businesses: 77
Number of Employees: 403

Idaho isn’t much better than South Dakota with only 6.7% of black residents earning a bachelor’s degree and only 77 black-owned businesses in total. But the state’s saving grace is the number of workers that are employed at those businesses. The 403 employees number is the reason that Idaho is fourth on this list.

5. New Hampshire

Education: 18
Black-Owned Businesses: 86
Number of Employees: 1,363

New Hampshire comes in as the fifth least supportive state of black-owned businesses. The state only supports 86 black-owned businesses. While that number is fairly low amongst the country, the state does boast a whopping 18% of black residents that have received a bachelor’s degree.

6. Kentucky

Education: 19
Black-Owned Businesses: 751
Number of Employees: 9,272

Kentucky comes in No. 6 least supportive of black-owned businesses. The state is definitely far away from being supportive with only 18.6 of black residents earning a bachelor’s degree or higher.

7. Utah

Education: 21
Black-Owned Businesses: 226
Number of Employees: 1,491

Utah’s No. 7 spot of being least supportive comes as no surprise. Utah has one of the lowest numbers of black-owned businesses in the country with only 226 calling the state home.

8. Wisconsin

Education: 17
Black-Owned Businesses: 1,044
Number of Employees: 15,329

Wisconsin boasts the highest number of black-owned businesses on this list, but it’s not enough to keep it off the top 10. While the state supports 1,044 black-owned businesses, it also has one of the lowest percentages of black residents with a bachelor’s degree at 16.7%.

9. Arkansas

Education: 18
Black-Owned Businesses: 700
Number of Employees: 5,029

Arkansas tops our chart of least supportive state at No. 9. While the 700 black-owned businesses that reside there is one of the higher numbers, the state’s 17.8% of black residents with a bachelor’s degree definitely hurt its ranking.

10. Nevada

Education: 16
Black-Owned Businesses: 768
Number of Employees: 12,002

Nevada comes in as the tenth least supportive state with only 16% of its black residents having earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. That percentage is the fourth-worst in the entire country.

Conclusion: While black-owned businesses are already few and far in-between, these 10 states don’t help much at all. With the added low education rates and number of employees, these states are the least supportive of black-owned businesses. The complete list of how supportive each state ranks is listed in the table below.

Rank	State	Education	Black-Owned Businesses	Number Of Employees
1	South Dakota	6	33	166
2	North Dakota	14	97	317
3	Iowa	18	196	1,447
4	Idaho	6	77	403
5	New Hampshire	18	86	1,363
6	Kentucky	18	751	9,272
6	Utah	20	226	1,491
8	Wisconsin	16	1,044	15,329
9	Arkansas	17	700	5,029
9	Nevada	16	768	12,002
11	Kansas	20	445	8,768
12	West Virginia	21	160	1,866
13	Nebraska	21	247	2,060
14	Rhode Island	19	287	2,579
15	South Carolina	17	2,351	22,103
16	Indiana	20	1,361	23,067
17	Montana	58	19	94
18	Oklahoma	21	817	7,508
19	Mississippi	20	1,569	17,365
20	Ohio	18	3,068	43,186
21	Alabama	20	1,808	16,180
21	Oregon	25	588	4,070
23	Minnesota	22	1,057	23,041
24	Michigan	20	2,884	58,580
24	New Mexico	24	221	2,137
26	Louisiana	18	2,637	35,874
27	Hawaii	40	116	1,269
27	Tennessee	22	2,203	25,042
29	Alaska	34	156	1,615
29	Washington	25	1,487	11,846
31	Arizona	25	1,195	11,958
32	Pennsylvania	21	3,316	36,814
33	Colorado	31	1,198	8,005
34	Missouri	20	8,185	32,737
35	Illinois	24	4,258	48,642
36	Florida	23	11,932	72,280
36	Delaware	26	517	4,371
38	North Carolina	25	5,845	57,335
39	Massachusetts	30	1,893	26,509
40	New Jersey	28	4,028	30,043
41	Texas	27	9,728	124,735
42	California	28	10,287	81,530
42	Virginia	26	5,294	59,175
44	New York	27	11,395	72,486
45	Georgia	27	8,929	83,781
46	Maryland	33	6,570	64,023

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Amanda Postma

Amanda Postma is a writer for the Zippia Career Advice blog with a focus on creating entertaining content to help you through your job search. She received her BA from the University Of Missouri-Columbia.

Create Resume