Alaska Receives an A- from Local Small Business Owners

SAN FRANCISCO—Thumbtack, the website and app that finds local professionals (pros) for any project, announced the results from its 2019 Small Business Friendliness Survey, ranking forty-nine states and forty-four cities based on factors including licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations. With more than 5,000 small business owners surveyed, it’s the largest continuous study of small business perceptions of local government policy in the US.

Small business owners gave Alaska an A- this year, ranking fifteenth in the survey of business friendliness in all fifty states. That’s twelve spots worse than last year, when it ranked third and received an A+. As a comparison, Alaska scored higher than Hawaii (D) and Washington (B-).

Based on the evaluations, Thumbtack also assigned eight policy-specific grades to evaluate how easy state governments make it to start, operate, and grow a small business. For more details about the report and the full set of results for Alaska, visit www.Thumbtack.com/AK.

Here’s how small business owners rated Alaska:

Overall friendliness: A-

Ease of starting a business: D+

Ease of hiring: F

Regulations: A

Employment, labor, and hiring: A

Tax code: A

Licensing: A+

Training & networking programs: A

Government websites: A+

“Small business owners are active, involved members of their communities and local economies,” said Kellyn Blossom, head of public policy at Thumbtack. “Our survey shows the economic impact of health care, housing, and transportation are top of mind for them. With 96 percent of small business owners planning to vote in the 2020 elections, they could have a big impact on the outcome.”

Survey Methodology

Between May 8, 2019 and July 1, 2019, Thumbtack surveyed more than 5,000 small business owners from across the US operating across hundreds of categories including electricians, music teachers, wedding planners, and wellness professionals. The survey asked these entrepreneurs about the policies of their states and cities toward small business, as well as the overall level of support in their community. For the survey methodology, visit: https://www.thumbtack.com/survey.