The new American Dream is to find the financial freedom that comes with starting a successful business. That's really the only way to become truly wealthy in the United States, if you weren't lucky enough to be born into money.

Now, personal finance site WalletHub has calculated what they say is a ranking of the 50 states, "across 25 key indicators of startup success to determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise."

You can read more about WalletHub's methodology here. Some of their conclusions are really surprising. (Let's just say people from Mississippi will like it more than some other rankings.) But even if you could quibble a bit with a few of the rankings or methodology, it's an interesting starting point.

Other rankings we've compiled recently include:

  • 50 states ranked by how polite they are
  • 50 states ranked by life expectancy
  • 50 states ranked by how much healthy exercise their workers get
  • 50 states ranked by average IQ score
  • 50 states ranked by how bad their drivers are

So now, the 50 states ranked in order of friendliness to new business. Where does your state rank? Does the list make sense to you?

1.          Texas

Total Score:    64.4   (out of 100 perfect score)

  • Business Environment Rank:           1
  • Access to Resources Rank:    12
  • Business Costs Rank:            16

2          Utah

Total Score:    63.41

  • Business Environment Rank:           3
  • Access to Resources Rank:    1
  • Business Costs Rank:            33

3          Georgia

Total Score:    60.21

  • Business Environment Rank:           7
  • Access to Resources Rank:    15
  • Business Costs Rank:            17

4          Montana

Total Score:    58.9

  • Business Environment Rank:           8
  • Access to Resources Rank:    14
  • Business Costs Rank:            8

5.          Oklahoma

Total Score:    58.67

  • Business Environment Rank:           11
  • Access to Resources Rank:    25
  • Business Costs Rank:            1

6.          Florida

Total Score:    58.09

  • Business Environment Rank:           5
  • Access to Resources Rank:    21
  • Business Costs Rank:            25

7.          North Dakota

Total Score:    57.94

  • Business Environment Rank:           4
  • Access to Resources Rank:    20
  • Business Costs Rank:            31

8.          California

Total Score:    57.61

  • Business Environment Rank:           2
  • Access to Resources Rank:    6
  • Business Costs Rank:            47

9.          Arizona

Total Score:    55.58

  • Business Environment Rank:           10
  • Access to Resources Rank:    19
  • Business Costs Rank:            23

10.       Colorado

Total Score:    55.43

  • Business Environment Rank:           6
  • Access to Resources Rank:    24
  • Business Costs Rank:            32

11.       Nevada

Total Score:    53.44

  • Business Environment Rank:           9
  • Access to Resources Rank:    30
  • Business Costs Rank:            29

12.       North Carolina

Total Score:    53.26

  • Business Environment Rank:           20
  • Access to Resources Rank:    17
  • Business Costs Rank:            14

13.       Washington

Total Score:    52.55

  • Business Environment Rank:           15
  • Access to Resources Rank:    2
  • Business Costs Rank:            41

14.       Idaho

Total Score:    52.19

  • Business Environment Rank:           14
  • Access to Resources Rank:    46
  • Business Costs Rank:            7

15.       Michigan

Total Score:    51.86

  • Business Environment Rank:           28
  • Access to Resources Rank:    36
  • Business Costs Rank:            3

16.       South Dakota

Total Score:    51.59

  • Business Environment Rank:           32
  • Access to Resources Rank:    29
  • Business Costs Rank:            6

17.       Wyoming

Total Score:    51.39

  • Business Environment Rank:           17
  • Access to Resources Rank:    26
  • Business Costs Rank:            26

18.       Louisiana

Total Score:    50.91

  • Business Environment Rank:           27
  • Access to Resources Rank:    23
  • Business Costs Rank:            15

19.       Massachusetts

Total Score:    50.84

  • Business Environment Rank:           16
  • Access to Resources Rank:    5
  • Business Costs Rank:            44

20.       Nebraska

Total Score:    50.61

  • Business Environment Rank:           26
  • Access to Resources Rank:    32
  • Business Costs Rank:            10

21.       Mississippi

Total Score:    50.47

  • Business Environment Rank:           44
  • Access to Resources Rank:    28
  • Business Costs Rank:            2

22.       Kentucky

Total Score:    49.67

  • Business Environment Rank:           38
  • Access to Resources Rank:    42
  • Business Costs Rank:            5

23.       Oregon

Total Score:    49.6

  • Business Environment Rank:           13
  • Access to Resources Rank:    27
  • Business Costs Rank:            36

24.       Missouri

Total Score:    49.54

  • Business Environment Rank:           24
  • Access to Resources Rank:    33
  • Business Costs Rank:            20

25.       South Carolina

Total Score:    49.49

  • Business Environment Rank:           31
  • Access to Resources Rank:    39
  • Business Costs Rank:            13

26.       Arkansas

Total Score:    49.47

  • Business Environment Rank:           37
  • Access to Resources Rank:    35
  • Business Costs Rank:            11

27.       Minnesota

Total Score:    49.29

  • Business Environment Rank:           21
  • Access to Resources Rank:    10
  • Business Costs Rank:            39

28.       Illinois

Total Score:    49.04

  • Business Environment Rank:           34
  • Access to Resources Rank:    7
  • Business Costs Rank:            38

29.       New Mexico

Total Score:    48.79

  • Business Environment Rank:           43
  • Access to Resources Rank:    18
  • Business Costs Rank:            19

30.       Tennessee

Total Score:    48.31

  • Business Environment Rank:           35
  • Access to Resources Rank:    45
  • Business Costs Rank:            12

31.       Maine

Total Score:    48.19

  • Business Environment Rank:           30
  • Access to Resources Rank:    40
  • Business Costs Rank:            22

32.       New York

Total Score:    48.02

  • Business Environment Rank:           18
  • Access to Resources Rank:    3
  • Business Costs Rank:            49

33.       Indiana

Total Score:    47.87

  • Business Environment Rank:           25
  • Access to Resources Rank:    47
  • Business Costs Rank:            18

34.       Virginia

Total Score:    47.63

  • Business Environment Rank:           19
  • Access to Resources Rank:    31
  • Business Costs Rank:            34

35.       Kansas

Total Score:    47.54

  • Business Environment Rank:           41
  • Access to Resources Rank:    37
  • Business Costs Rank:            21

36.       Alaska

Total Score:    47.26

  • Business Environment Rank:           12
  • Access to Resources Rank:    16
  • Business Costs Rank:            48

37.       Delaware

Total Score:    47.17

  • Business Environment Rank:           22
  • Access to Resources Rank:    13
  • Business Costs Rank:            42

38.       Ohio

Total Score:    46.63

  • Business Environment Rank:           39
  • Access to Resources Rank:    43
  • Business Costs Rank:            24

39.       Iowa

Total Score:    46.38

  • Business Environment Rank:           33
  • Access to Resources Rank:    34
  • Business Costs Rank:            30

40.       Wisconsin

Total Score:    46.17

  • Business Environment Rank:           36
  • Access to Resources Rank:    44
  • Business Costs Rank:            28

41.       Alabama

Total Score:    45.9

  • Business Environment Rank:           48
  • Access to Resources Rank:    41
  • Business Costs Rank:            9

42.       Maryland

Total Score:    45.85

  • Business Environment Rank:           29
  • Access to Resources Rank:    8
  • Business Costs Rank:            45

43.       Connecticut

Total Score:    45.05

  • Business Environment Rank:           42
  • Access to Resources Rank:    4
  • Business Costs Rank:            46

44.       New Jersey

Total Score:    44

  • Business Environment Rank:           23
  • Access to Resources Rank:    9
  • Business Costs Rank:            50

45.       West Virginia

Total Score:    43.6

  • Business Environment Rank:           50
  • Access to Resources Rank:    38
  • Business Costs Rank:            4

46.       Pennsylvania

Total Score:    42.81

  • Business Environment Rank:           47
  • Access to Resources Rank:    22
  • Business Costs Rank:            37

47.       Vermont

Total Score:    42.53

  • Business Environment Rank:           46
  • Access to Resources Rank:    49
  • Business Costs Rank:            27

48.       Rhode Island

Total Score:    41.88

  • Business Environment Rank:           49
  • Access to Resources Rank:    11
  • Business Costs Rank:            35

49.       New Hampshire

Total Score:    38.11

  • Business Environment Rank:           45
  • Access to Resources Rank:    48
  • Business Costs Rank:            40

50       Hawaii

Total Score:    37.16

  • Business Environment Rank:           40
  • Access to Resources Rank:    50
  • Business Costs Rank:            43