startup friendly

Texas declared the No. 1 state to start a business by new study

Texas flag flying with blue sky in background

Texas continues to dominate in business.

The entrepreneurial spirit is best cultivated by Texans, apparently. The Lone Star State comes in first place for being business-friendly to startups and their founders in a new study.

Out of all 50 states, Texas reigns supreme in WalletHub's report of the best and worst states to start a business for 2019. Texas earns a score of 61.05, which factored in business environment, access to resources, and business costs. Of those factors, the state ranked No. 1 for business environment, No. 11 for access to resources, and No. 30 for business costs.

Zeroing in on some key factors, Texas was recognized for having the fourth highest average growth in small businesses and the fifth highest total spending on incentives as its percent of gross domestic product. Texas also has the fourth longest work week by hours.

Texas edged out No. 2 Utah by a mere 0.1 points. The rest of the top five includes Georgia, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, respectively. At the bottom of the rankings are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

Dallas recently received a similar distinction from the personal finance site. In May, WalletHub used 19 key metrics — such as five-year business-survival rate and office-space affordability — to name Dallas the No. 15 best city for starting a business out of 100 of the largest U.S. metros. In that study, a total of seven Texas cities made the top 20.

Texas also has a favorable business climate for female entrepreneurs in particular, one study found. Texas moved up to No. 1 from No. 8 in 2018 in this report by Fit Small Business that published in January.

Meanwhile, while known for being best for business, Texas is far from the top ranking in a study that analyzed the states' overall capacity. Texas came in at No. 38 in this recent U.S. News & World Report's best states rankings for 2019, but even this report recognized Texas' business climate.

"Texas' diverse industrial base has drawn many businesses and workers in recent decades because of light regulation, low taxes and a low cost of labor," U.S. News says. "Entrepreneurs are particularly attracted to Austin, which emerged as a major player in the technology industry in the 1990s. Its 'South by Southwest' is one of the preeminent national tech conferences."

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A version of this originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

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college ranking news

SMU declared No. 1 university in Dallas-Fort Worth in new 2027 ranking

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Go Mustangs!

Education ranking and review website Niche has released its 2027 rankings of the best colleges in the U.S., and Southern Methodist University leads as the No. 1 best university in Dallas-Fort Worth and the sixth best in Texas.

Niche's annual rankings compared over 4,000 colleges and universities based on their academics, value, student life, career preparation, and more. Schools receive letter grades across 14 metrics, which were expanded this year to include Student Wellness and Future Readiness.

Also new to this year's rankings, Niche implemented an "Institutional Success Score" that "places every college into one of 10 mission-based categories" and compared each school against "outcomes aligned with that mission," which included research institutions, social mobility-focused colleges, and religious institutions, among others.

Among the Best Christian Colleges, SMU ranks 5th in the U.S., and it is the 67th best private university in America.

SMU rival Texas Christian University in Fort Worth ranks three spots behind SMU as the eighth best Christian college and slightly lower on the national list of private universities, at No. 81.

In the overall ranking of the Best Colleges in America for 2027, SMU ranks 118th and TCU comes in at No. 142.

SMU also received the following top-100 rankings:

No. 58 – Best Greek Life Colleges
No. 62 – Best College Locations
No. 68 – Best College Campuses
No. 71 – Top Party Schools
No. 72 – Colleges With the Best Student Life
No. 80 – Colleges With the Best Professors
No. 99 – Best Colleges for Student Athletes

Also on the local front, University of Texas at Dallas ranked a respectable No. 13 in the Texas-wide list, and it ranked as the 219th best university in the U.S. It fared better in the nationwide list of the Best Big Colleges, appearing at No. 74.

Top education institutions across Texas
Four other Texas universities outside Dallas-Fort Worth excelled on Niche's list of the 100 Best Colleges in America.

Rice University in Houston topped the statewide list, ranked as the 10th best university in America, and is the 10th best private university in the U.S. for 2027.

The University of Texas at Austin ranked second statewide and 30th nationwide, and topped the list of Colleges With the Best Student Life. UT Austin also racked up top-10 acclaim in the separate lists of the Best College Locations (No. 4), Top Public Universities (No. 5), Best Big Colleges (No. 6), Best College Campuses (No. 10), and Best Colleges For Student Athletes (No. 10).

Texas A&M University in College Station and Trinity University in San Antonio round out the remaining Texas institutions that ranked among the top 100 overall. The Aggies ranked 52nd nationwide, and the Trinity Tigers ranked 65th overall.

universities smu southern methodist university dallas tcu texas christian university fort worth niche rankings