The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranks Hawaii’s small business environment among the lowest in the U.S.

The SBE Council’s 17th  “U.S. Business Policy Index”, which ranks states on policy measures and costs impacting small business and entrepreneurship, puts Hawaii at No. 45 among the 50 states and Wash., D.C.

States lower in the rankings than Hawaii, in numerical order, are Maine, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, and California.

The states topping the rankings, in order from 1 through 10, are South Dakota, Nevada, Texas, Wyoming, Florida, Washington, Alabama, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.

The SBE Council used 46 policy measures to arrive at the ranking, including tax, regulatory and government spending measures.

http://www.sbecouncil.org/resources/publications/business-policy-index-2012/