Report: Wisconsin near bottom in entrepreneurial activity

Wisconsin ranks near the bottom of all states in monthly entrepreneurial business creation according to the recently released Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.

The Kauffman Index, which combines U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly survey information, placed Wisconsin as the fifth-worst state in the country, with a creation rate of 170 adults creating business per 100,000 or 0.17 percent. Wisconsin is joined at the bottom by some of its Midwestern neighbors, including Minnesota (160 per 100,000), Indiana (160 per 100,000) and last-ranked Iowa (110 per 100,000).

Montana and Alaska led all other states with 610 and 470 adults creating businesses per 100,000, respectively. The average nationwide business creation per month, according to the report, was 280 per 100,000.

Wisconsin also ranked near the bottom in the amount of change in entrepreneurial business creation over the last decade with a drop from 0.27 percent between 2001 and 2003 to 0.19 percent between 2011 and 2013. Minnesota and Iowa also saw similar drops with Minnesota dropping an equal 0.08 percentage points and Iowa dropping 0.10 percentage points in that period.

The report found the Midwest region trailed all other regions of the country in entrepreneurial business creation with 0.20 percent compared to the leading 0.30 percent among western states.

It also reported that nationwide totals have recently returned to pre-recession levels, with data collected from 2013 resembling values from 2006.

See the full report