VERMONT — The Kauffman Foundation ranked Vermont as the fifth best state in the country for business startups, according to a news release issued by the Vermont Department of Economic Development.
The Kauffman Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation focused on education and entrepreneurship. Their report, the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity, evaluated states based three criteria: the rate of new entrepreneurs in the state; the number of startup firms per capita; and the opportunity share of new entrepreneurs, or the percentage of people who became entrepreneurs to take advantage of an opportunity, rather than out of necessity.
According to the report, Vermont has the third highest rate of new entrepreneurs in the country. Four-tenths of a percent of Vermont’s adult population on average become entrepreneurs over the course of a given month, the report said.
The report determined that 79 percent of the state’s new business founders were inspired by opportunity rather than necessity, placing Vermont “around the midpoint among the states,” according to the press release.
Lastly, at 157.4 startups per 100,000 residents, Vermont has the eighth highest startup density in the nation, the report found.