Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Newly published research from CardConnect reveals which U.S. states are home to the most entrepreneurially-minded people in the country, and Tennessee placed 12^th nationally in terms of the greatest number of new business applications since COVID-19 hit.

Data show that the Volunteer State recorded a 60.23 percent increase in new business applications compared to 2019. Interestingly, the top five ranked states have major universities playing in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi ranked first with a 111.94 percent increase followed by Georgia (#2 with a 96.79 percent increase), Louisiana at #3 with a 84.69 percent increase, South Carolina at #4 clocking in with a 84.52 percent increase, and Alabama rounding out the top five at #5 with an increase of 81.29 percent.

“The South certainly shows its ambition in these rankings,” the report authors wrote in this release. “Of the states with the most new entrepreneurs following COVID-19, Southern states account for 13 of the top spots. While we might have expected the rankings to be dominated by the likes of California and New York, the results tell us loud and clear that people in the South are ready to take matters into their own hands when it comes to business.”

CardConnect also looked at new business applications by state between September 2020 and August 2021. Tennessee was not in the top 20 listed. In a separate email, a representative of CardConnect said the Volunteer State ranked #25.

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