The 7 Best States to Start a Business

I think southern WA (Vancouver WA, etc.) is the best place to do a startup right now. There's a large population of highly qualified tech people in Portland, OR, but nowhere near enough local employment. Commuting from Portland to Vancouver is feasible, or people could live in WA and also get the income tax benefits, while having Portland's cultural advantages. Southern WA is also very inexpensive relative to the Seattle area, and the local counties are pro business.

NorCal, SoCal, NY are expensive places to start a company and almost never show up on these types of articles.

But yet most of the biggest names in tech come from these areas. Y Combinator moved to NorCal for some good reasons.

Pro-Business means more than less laws and low taxes. I wish there were more articles focusing on things like VC money flow, startup activity, tolerance for non-traditional idaes, creativity and the cheapest ramen/pizza options.