2016 Best (And Worst) States: The Important Factors For Millennials Starting A Solution Provider Business

Where The Millennials (Should) Roam

For the 2016 Best States project, CRN looked at the best and worst states for millennials to consider when starting a solution provider business. The analysis included a range of criteria that were of specific interest to millennials, including quality of life and cost of living factors.

Data included a state's quality of life (CNBC America's Top States for Business 2016), gasoline tax rates (American Petroleum Institute & Tax Foundation), median rent on a two-bedroom apartment (Apartmentlist.com), policies and incentives for renewables and efficiencies (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency), median ages (U.S. Census Bureau), and availability of public transportation (Center for Neighborhood Technology's AllTransit Performance Score).

Also included in the analysis were business factors such as startup rates (2015 Rate of New Entrepreneurs – Kauffman Index Startup Activity by State), venture capital availability (Nerdwallet: Most Entrepreneurial States), and rankings for tech industry employment, tech business establishments and average tech wage (CompTIA Cyberstates Report).

The following are the 10 states with the overall highest rankings for the "millennial factors," listed from No. 10 to No. 1. The states with the overall lowest rankings are then listed from No. 41 to No. 50. We’ve also included some the more interesting data points.

Best States No. 10: Illinois

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 20)

Cost of living rank (with No. 50 most expensive): No. 34

Quality of life rank (with No. 50 the lowest quality): No. 35

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,480

Tech industry employment rank (with No. 1 the highest percentage of total employment): No. 7

Average tech industry wage: $95,062 (rank: No. 15)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $7,397,737

Best States No. 9: Virginia

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 22)

Cost of living rank: No. 30

Quality of life rank: No. 16

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,400

Tech industry employment rank: No. 6

Average tech industry wage: $109,038 (rank: No. 6)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $5,961,662

Best States No. 8: Washington

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 19)

Cost of living rank: No. 37

Quality of life rank: No. 8

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,360

Tech industry employment rank: No. 9

Average tech industry wage: $129,359 (rank: No. 2)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $18,979,397

Best States No. 7: Utah

Median age: 31 (rank: No. 1)

Cost of living rank: No. 22

Quality of life rank: No. 13

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $890

Tech industry employment rank: No. 22

Average tech industry wage: $77,970 (rank: No.34)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $33,747,855

Best States No. 6: Arizona

Median age: 37 (rank: No. 16)

Cost of living rank: No. 31

Quality of life rank: No. 32

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,070

Tech industry employment rank: No. 18

Average tech industry wage: $95,617 (rank: No. 14)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $3,791,347

Best States No. 5: Massachusetts

Median age: 39 (rank: No. 38)

Cost of living rank: No. 44

Quality of life rank: No. 17

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,500

Tech industry employment rank: No. 5

Average tech industry wage: $127, 875 (rank: No. 3)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $78,705,379

Best States No. 4: New York

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 27)

Cost of living rank: No. 49

Quality of life rank: No. 22

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $3,000

Tech industry employment rank: No. 3

Average tech industry wage: $109,193 (rank: No. 5)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $29,987,038

Best States No. 3: California

Median age: 36 (rank: No. 7)

Cost of living rank: No. 47

Quality of life rank: No. 23

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,040

Tech industry employment rank: No. 1

Average tech industry wage: $149,335 (rank: No. 1)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $84,233,988

Best States No. 2: Texas

Median age: 34 (rank: No. 3)

Cost of living rank: No. 21

Quality of life rank: No. 37

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,240

Tech industry employment rank: No. 2

Average tech industry wage: $99,667 (rank: No. 13)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $5,390,080

Best States No. 1: Colorado

Median age: 37 (rank: No. 12)

Cost of living rank: No. 32

Quality of life rank: No. 12

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,470

Tech industry employment rank: No. 13

Average tech industry wage: $106,350 (rank: No. 8)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $17,970,842

Worst States No. 41: Hawaii

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 22)

Cost of living rank: No. 50

Quality of life rank: No. 1

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $2,200

Tech industry employment rank: No. 44

Average tech industry wage: $79,318 (rank: No. 32)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $100,383

Worst States No. 42: Mississippi

Median age: 37 (rank: No. 13)

Cost of living rank: No. 1

Quality of life rank: No. 44

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $750

Tech industry employment rank: No. 39

Average tech industry wage: $60,397 (rank: No. 49)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $0

Worst States No. 43: Iowa

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 26)

Cost of living rank: No. 12

Quality of life rank: No. 9

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $820

Tech industry employment rank: No. 31

Average tech industry wage: $73,451 (rank: No. 39)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $816,832

Worst States No. 44: Wisconsin

Median age: 39 (rank: No. 35)

Cost of living rank: No. 23

Quality of life rank: No. 15

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $920

Tech industry employment rank: No. 20

Average tech industry wage: $77,591 (rank: No. 36)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $1,504,232

Worst States No. 45: Alabama

Median age: 39 (rank: No. 32)

Cost of living rank: No. 4

Quality of life rank: No. 43

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $730

Tech industry employment rank: No. 24

Average tech industry wage: $80,031 (rank: No. 29)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $224,647

Worst States No. 46: Arkansas

Median age: 38 (rank: No. 24)

Cost of living rank: No. 3

Quality of life rank: No. 50

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $660

Tech industry employment rank: No. 38

Average tech industry wage: $67,637 (rank: No. 44)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $731,504

Worst States No. 47: Tennessee

Median age: 39 (rank: No. 31)

Cost of living rank: No. 5

Quality of life rank: No. 46

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $900

Tech industry employment rank: No. 25

Average tech industry wage: $76,333 (rank: No. 37)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $2,398,019

Worst States No. 48: Rhode Island

Median age: 40 (rank: No. 42)

Cost of living rank: No. 43

Quality of life rank: No. 24

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,300

Tech industry employment rank: No. 41

Average tech industry wage: $81,071 (rank: No. 26)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $7,276,323

Worst States No. 49: Maine

Median age: 45 (rank: No. 50)

Cost of living rank: No. 39

Quality of life rank: No. 5

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,320

Tech industry employment rank: No. 42

Average tech industry wage: $71,304 (rank: No. 41)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $1,489,600

Worst States No. 50: West Virginia

Median age: 42 (rank: No. 47)

Cost of living rank: No. 13

Quality of life rank: No. 40

Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $690

Tech industry employment rank: No. 43

Average tech industry wage: $64,200 (rank: No. 48)

Venture capital funding 2014-2015 (per 100,000 people): $0