Where is it easiest to open: Baked Goods Retailers
40 states, side by side. Operator counts and wages from Census and BLS; licence records matched on “SOC 41-1011” (soc) for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. A blank gate means NO RECORD MATCHED, which is not the same as no licence.
| State | Operators | Avg staff | Pay / employee | Gate | Licence titles matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 346 | 5.8 | $28,257 | not matched | — |
| CA | 262 | 7.6 | $30,784 | not matched | — |
| FL | 192 | 6.0 | $24,435 | not matched | — |
| NJ | 181 | 6.3 | $21,137 | not matched | — |
| MI | 140 | 5.0 | $20,440 | exam | Horse Racing Occupational License |
| TX | 96 | 5.6 | $26,279 | not matched | — |
| IL | 84 | 9.2 | $25,760 | exam | INTERTRACK EMPLOYEE |
| MA | 76 | 5.8 | $33,253 | exam | GAMING EMPLOYEE |
| PA | 72 | 5.9 | $22,033 | not matched | — |
| MD | 66 | 9.5 | $23,348 | not matched | — |
| OH | 49 | 8.7 | $23,448 | not matched | — |
| VA | 41 | 8.4 | $22,431 | not matched | — |
| MN | 37 | 8.4 | $26,090 | not matched | — |
| AZ | 37 | 11.5 | $19,733 | not matched | — |
| SC | 35 | 5.9 | $20,908 | not matched | — |
| GA | 35 | 4.9 | $24,728 | not matched | — |
| UT | 29 | 6.5 | $16,027 | not matched | — |
| WA | 25 | 6.8 | $28,941 | not matched | — |
| CT | 24 | 7.7 | $30,173 | not matched | — |
| CO | 22 | 6.9 | $22,894 | licence | Marijuana Employee License; Meat Program-Custom Processing |
| IN | 18 | 11.9 | $19,804 | exam | Occupational Riverboat Gambling Licens |
| MO | 18 | 7.5 | $14,652 | not matched | — |
| HI | 15 | 8.1 | $34,262 | not matched | — |
| NV | 13 | 7.6 | $22,687 | not matched | — |
| KY | 12 | 11.9 | $17,224 | not matched | — |
| TN | 12 | 14.8 | $22,847 | not matched | — |
| RI | 11 | 12.5 | $24,188 | not matched | — |
| NC | 11 | 11.1 | $23,025 | licence | Amphibian and Reptile Possession permi; Cigarette Distributor |
| DC | 10 | 5.0 | $32,400 | not matched | — |
| LA | 9 | 4.1 | $26,514 | not matched | — |
| WI | 8 | 8.2 | $25,212 | not matched | — |
| OR | 6 | 8.8 | $22,283 | not matched | — |
| NM | 5 | 7.2 | $16,139 | licence | Staff Permit Employees |
| DE | 4 | 24.0 | $18,052 | not matched | — |
| OK | 4 | 7.8 | $25,258 | licence | Employee |
| NE | 4 | 3.0 | $24,333 | not matched | — |
| SD | 3 | 9.7 | $24,759 | not matched | — |
| KS | 3 | 7.7 | $9,478 | licence | Level III Gaming Occupation |
| ID | 3 | 6.3 | $23,158 | not matched | — |
| NH | 3 | 7.0 | $25,238 | not matched | — |
Axes are shown side by side and deliberately NOT collapsed into a ranking. A composite would be a score with no measured interval, and an unmeasured score is the thing this product exists to argue against. A high licence gate is a cost to enter and a moat once cleared — which of those matters more is the operator's call, not ours.
Licence data courtesy of CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Free to read, no account, always — a condition of the data licence as well as our own position.