Smaller States Post Big Gains in Q4 Growth of Franchise Interest Index™
Alaska, Hawaii lead overall gains, Georgia tops growth among large-population states
February 12, 2020 – Small- and mid-sized states with adult population under 5 million showed some of the strongest year-over-year growth in franchise-buying interest, according to the latest data from Franchise Insights. And among the largest states, Georgia tops the Franchise Interest Index™ for both overall interest and for Q4 growth over the previous year.
The Franchise Interest Index™ reveals the relative interest of entrepreneurs making an investment inquiry by indexing proprietary data with states’ adult population on a per capita basis. An index of 100 indicates average per-capita interest, while an index of 120 represents 20% higher-than-average interest. The Franchise Insights proprietary data is drawn from the Franchise Ventures flow of franchise-investment inquiries in the United States.
For this analysis, each state’s Franchise Interest Index™ from Q4 2019 was compared to Q4 2018 to determine relative change.
- Alaska showed the greatest gain in Q4, increasing its score 48.3% to an Index score of 89.2. Other small states showing top 10 gains were Hawaii (up 32%), Idaho (up 21.4%), Kansas (up 19.1%), and Maine (up 15%).
- Minnesota was No. 4 for Q4 growth overall, growing its per capita score by 22.7%, and leading mid-sized states with adult population between 5 and 10 million. Other mid-sized gainers were Virginia (up 19.9%), Massachusetts (up 18.8%) and Arizona (up 11.9%).
Among large states with adult population over 10 million, Georgia was the only top 10 gainer, increasing its index score 17.4% to 179.6 for Q4. Georgia’s above-average franchise interest made it the top state in the Franchise Interest Index™ for all of 2019 as well as Q4.
States Ranked by Change in Franchise Interest Index(TM)
| Rank. | State | YOY change in Q4 index |
| 1. | Alaska | 48.3% |
| 2. | Hawaii | 32% |
| 3. | Minnesota | 22.7% |
| 4. | Idaho | 21.4% |
| 5. | Virginia | 19.9% |
| 6. | Kansas | 19.1% |
| 7. | Massachusetts | 18.8% |
| 8. | Georgia | 17.4% |
| 9. | Maine | 15% |
| 10. | Arizona | 11.9% |
| 11. | Tennessee | 11.5% |
| 12. | Ohio | 10.1% |
| 13. | South Carolina | 9.5% |
| 14. | Mississippi | 9.1% |
| 15. | Wyoming | 9% |
| 16. | Pennsylvania | 8% |
| 17. | Illinois | 7.9% |
| 18. | Delaware | 7.7% |
| 19. | West Virginia | 7.3% |
| 20. | Kentucky | 7.3% |
| 21. | Indiana | 5.4% |
| 22. | Nevada | 4.8% |
| 23. | Arkansas | 4.1% |
| 24. | Alabama | 4% |
| 25. | Oregon | 3.3% |
| 26. | Montana | 2.6% |
| 27. | North Carolina | 2% |
| 28. | New Mexico | 0.8% |
| 29. | California | 0.7% |
| 30. | Texas | 0.7% |
| 31. | Wisconsin | 0.1% |
| 32. | Florida | -1% |
| 33. | Oklahoma | -2.2% |
| 34. | Maryland | -2.4% |
| 35. | Connecticut | -2.4% |
| 36. | Michigan | -2.8% |
| 37. | New York | -3% |
| 38. | Utah | -4.9% |
| 39. | Louisiana | -5.4% |
| 40. | Colorado | -5.6% |
| 41. | New Jersey | -7.3% |
| 42. | Missouri | -10.7% |
| 43. | Nebraska | -14.9% |
| 44. | Iowa | -15.8% |
| 45. | New Hampshire | -19.4% |
| 46. | South Dakota | -25.3% |
| 47. | Washington | -26.2% |
| 48. | Rhode Island | -31.8% |
| 49. | North Dakota | -37.2% |
| 50. | Vermont | -65.3% |
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Published on Thursday, February 20th, 2020.