2016 Best (And Worst) States For Solution Provider Competition

Solution Provider Competitive Saturation

States with large concentrations of high-tech businesses might seem to be the best places to start a solution provider business. And it's true that such states have a lot going for them, including a bigger pool of IT workers and a better understanding among potential customers about what IT can do. But it's also true that such states already have many solution provider businesses and the competition for a startup would be especially tough.

As part the annual Best States project, CRN has ranked the solution provider competitive saturation of each state: That is, a state's ratio of solution providers (from The Channel Company's solution provider database) to the number of businesses – potential customers – in the state (from the U.S. Census).

Keep in mind that the states with the most favorable competitive saturation ratios are often rural and have smaller numbers of businesses. They may be far down the lists in other criteria, such as workforce education levels or opportunities for innovation and growth. And they likely score low on millennial-specific criteria used in this analysis.

The following are the 10 states with the best rankings for solution provider competitive saturation, listed from No. 10 to No. 1. The states with the lowest rankings are then listed from No. 41 to No. 50.

Best States No. 10: Iowa

Iowa has 986 solution providers and is ranked No. 30 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 9: Maine

Maine has 486 solution providers and is ranked No. 39 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 8: Vermont

Vermont has only 261 solution providers, and is ranked No. 48 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 7: South Dakota

South Dakota has 293 solution providers and is ranked No. 45 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 6: North Dakota

North Dakota has only 264 solution providers and is ranked No. 46 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 5: Montana

Montana has 419 solution providers and is ranked No. 40 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 4: Mississippi

Mississippi has 527 solution providers and is ranked No. 35 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 3: Arkansas

Arkansas has 569 solution providers and is ranked No. 33 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 2: West Virginia

West Virginia has 318 solution providers and is ranked No. 42 for the number of businesses in the state.

Best States No. 1: Wyoming

Wyoming, while ranked No. 48 overall in this year's Best States analysis, has the lowest rate of solution provider competition among the states. There are only 189 solution providers and is ranked No. 49 for the number of businesses in the state.

Virginia, while ranked No. 3 overall in this year's Best States analysis, is a tough place competition-wise, to start a solution provider business.

Worst States No. 41: Arizona

Arizona is ranked No. 21 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 2,835 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 42: Texas

Texas is ranked No. 4 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 11,424 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 43: California

California is ranked No. 1 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 21,451 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 44: Massachusetts

Massachusetts is ranked No. 14 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 4,338 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 45: Connecticut

Connecticut is ranked No. 28 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 2,258 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 46: New Jersey

New Jersey is ranked No. 7 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 6,104 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 47: New Hampshire

New Hampshire is ranked No. 41 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 1,144 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 48: Georgia

Georgia is ranked No. 10 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 6,355 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 49: Maryland

Maryland is ranked No. 20 for the number of businesses in the state, but has 4,330 solution providers to serve them.

Worst States No. 50: Virginia

Virginia, while ranked No. 3 overall in this year's Best States analysis, is a tough place competition-wise, to start a solution provider business. While it is ranked No. 12 for the number of businesses in the state, there are 6,222 solution providers to serve them.