Best States for Women Small Business Owners in 2024

By: Trends Staff

In a recent article from Lendio, a leading lender to small businesses, Washington was graded as being the best state in the country for women small business owners. America has seen more small businesses starting recently, with 10 million new startups alone from 2021 to 2022, and the number of women owned businesses increasing 13.6% since 2019. Washington is home to 13.8 million women owned businesses, who now employ over 10 million workers and generate 3.9 trillion dollars in revenue which presents a promising future for women in business.

The site provides an interactive table that ranks states on selectable categories, such as by “share of employer businesses owned by women,” or “percent female-owned businesses with revenue $1M+,” and other measures of business per state. The bottom of the table provides an average for the columns, and the top ten ranked states are given a summary of their performance and statistics that led to their position. Runner-up states are listed below too, along with tips for starting a business.

Washington’s winning statistics include its 42% share of employer businesses owned by women, which means women owned businesses make up nearly half of all business in the state and beats the national average of 34%. Washington also leads the country in its number of women owned businesses with over one million dollars in revenue, with 34% of all businesses owned by women grossing at least $1 million. The state scored highly for its VC (Venture Capital) funding per woman owned business and percent patents filed by women and was still above the average in its employment rate among women and percent change in woman owned businesses from 2012-2020.

Sources and methodology are provided at the end of the article by Lendio, and more information about new business growth can be found on the Walla Walla trends site.