These States Offer Women a Faster Path to Business Ownership

Key Takeaways:

1. Vermont: Women need just 0.7 years more than men to save for a business, thanks to grants and mentorship programs.
2. Oregon: A supportive business environment and progressive policies have helped reduce the gap to 1.2 years, leading to a rise in women-owned businesses.
3. Arizona: Women entrepreneurs also face a 1.2-year gap, with key support from mentorship and training programs like AWEEc.

For International Women's Day, DesignRush conducted a study to highlight the top states that offer women the fastest paths to business ownership.

While some states force women to wait up to a decade longer than men to become their own boss, others are making real strides in closing this gap.

On average, women take 4.3 years longer than men to start a business, but progressive policies are helping shorten that timeline.

In 2024, American women earned an average of 85% of what men make — only a slight increase from 81% in 2003, according to Pew Research.

While the gender pay gap persists, some states are leading the way toward greater equality in entrepreneurship.

Vermont, Oregon, and Arizona offer women a stronger financial foundation, allowing them to save for a business almost as quickly as men.

While the disparity still exists, progress in these three states gives aspiring female entrepreneurs a more hopeful outlook for 2025.

Vermont’s Path to Entrepreneurship for Women

Vermont is home to various resources that specifically support women entrepreneurs, enabling women to start their businesses with just 0.7 years more in savings time than men.

This includes the Vermont Women's Fund, which offers grants of up to $15,000 to promote women’s economic advancement.

The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) Vermont, on the other hand, offers workshops, personalized consultations, and networking opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Vermont Womenpreneurs provides a supportive community with regular events, workshops, and virtual meetups.

Key Actions for Businesses and Policymakers: Other states can learn from Vermont’s approach — its grants, networking opportunities, and dedicated support systems — to understand what’s working and create a more equitable entrepreneurial environment for women.

Oregon’s Entrepreneurial Landscape for Women

Women own about 47% of all businesses in Oregon in 2023 — a major increase from previous years.

Thanks to a supportive business ecosystem and progressive state policies, Oregon fosters a collaborative entrepreneurial culture with solid networks.

It now allows women to launch their own businesses with just 1.2 more years of savings time than men, highlighting the state's progress in narrowing the gender financial gap.

Key Actions for Businesses and Policymakers: States unable to close the gender gap in business ownership can look to Oregon’s policies and support systems to integrate targeted funding, mentorship programs, and policy incentives so they can foster a more inclusive local entrepreneurial environment.

Arizona’s Key Resources Helping Women Launch Businesses

The state hosts several organizations dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs, such as the Arizona Women's Education & Entrepreneur Center (AWEEc), which offers training, mentoring, and resources.

This strong network of resources has played a key role in the state securing the third spot among the top states for women to start a business, waiting only 1.2 years longer than men to be their own boss.

It nearly tied with Oregon for second place, but a slightly wider gender pay gap pushed it to third.

Key Actions for Businesses and Policymakers: States aiming to boost local entrepreneurship can learn from Arizona’s investment in implementing targeted initiatives for women to fuel widespread business success and economic growth.

Benefiting from a More Inclusive Economy

States that support gender equity in entrepreneurship create thriving ecosystems where businesses, investors, and female entrepreneurs can drive innovation and economic growth.

• A Competitive Advantage: Businesses in these states can brand themselves as part of an ecosystem that fosters gender equity in entrepreneurship, attracting talent, investors, and customers who want to support inclusive economic growth.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Opportunity: Larger businesses can support female entrepreneurs through supplier diversity programs, funding initiatives, or partnerships that amplify women-owned startups, reinforcing their brand as champions of inclusive growth.
• Building Stronger Business Networks: Women entrepreneurs can form mentorship networks, funding circles, or co-working spaces designed to help each other scale faster, creating a self-sustaining cycle of innovation and collaboration.
• Lower Financial Barriers, Faster Market Entry: Policymakers can enhance this further by offering targeted small business grants, microloans, or accelerators specifically for women entrepreneurs to further speed up business launches.

Leveraging these advantages allows businesses to expand, female entrepreneurs to scale efficiently, and policymakers to advance gender equity, boosting economic resilience.

Methodology

This campaign ranks U.S. states based on how long it takes women to save enough to become business owners, with a key focus on the gap between women and men.

The primary metrics include:

• Salaries by gender (2024)
  • Source: Current Population Survey (CPS)
  • Total CPS sample size: 546,413 respondents
  • CPS datasets for each month of 2024 were aggregated to calculate average salaries.
  • CPS salary sample size after data cleaning.
• Business Startup Costs:
  • Source: Shopify Report on Cost to Start a Business
  • Average startup cost: $40,000 (including filing and annual fees)
• State Filing & Startup Fees
  • Source: LLC University - Filing Fees by State
• Savings Rate (Latest Data - December 2024)
  • Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Using salaries, savings rates, and total startup costs, we calculated how many years it would take for both women and men to save enough money to start a business.

We then ranked states based on the gender savings gap.

Women entrepreneurs looking for resources to start or grow their businesses can find the support they need with trusted experts listed in the DesignRush agency directory.