CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia is the worst state for women-owned businesses (WOBs), according to U.S. Census data analyzed by Clarify Capital.
Clarify Capital ranked all 50 states based on a combination score of five variables: percentage of women-owned small businesses, women-to-men pay ratios, women unemployment rates, WOBs with $1 million or more in annual revenue, and women-owned companies per 10,000 residents in each state.
According to Clarify Capital, U.S. Census data from 2020 shows that West Virginia is the worst state for women’s unemployment and WOBs per 10,000 residents. The state with the lowest women’s unemployment rate is Minnesota, and the best state for WOBs per 10,000 residents is Colorado, according to the study.
The women’s unemployment ranks for West Virginia’s neighboring states go as follows: Maryland (#17), Pennsylvania (#20), Virginia (#23), Ohio (#24) and Kentucky (#38). For the category of WOBs per 10,000 residents, those neighboring states’ ranks are: Virginia (#15), Maryland (#19), Pennsylvania (#40), Ohio (#44) and Kentucky (#46).
Another reason West Virginia ranks #50 on the study’s list is because the percentage of WOBs in the state is going down. According to Clarify Capital, the number of WOBs in the Mountain State went down by 16.24% from 2002 to 2020.
The best state for WOB percentage growth is Nevada with an 83.22% increase. All of West Virginia’s neighboring states also had positive growth rates for WOBs: Kentucky (+13%), Maryland (+31.4%), Ohio (+3.87%), Pennsylvania (+16.41%) and Virginia (+46.8%).
Below is a full chart of ranking in each category for West Virginia and its neighboring states.
| State | Overall Rank | Total Score | % of Female-Owned Small Businesses Rank | Women-to-Men Pay Ratios Rank | Female Unemployment Rates Rank | WOBs with $1M+ in Annual Revenue Rank | WOBs per 10k Residents in each State Rank |
| Maryland | 12 | 68.38 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 14 | 19 |
| Virginia | 13 | 68.39 | 16 | 17 | 23 | 9 | 15 |
| Pennsylvania | 30 | 63.76 | 50 | 32 | 20 | 7 | 40 |
| Ohio | 36 | 60.96 | 39 | 43 | 24 | 12 | 44 |
| Kentucky | 46 | 54.25 | 44 | 38 | 38 | 28 | 46 |
| West Virginia | 50 | 47.72 | 30 | 41 | 50 | 47 | 50 |
To view Clarify Capital’s full report on state rankings for WOBs, click here.
