Mississippi is 5th best state for Black businesses

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A recent report lists Mississippi as one of the best states for Black-owned businesses.

According to B2B Reviews, the state is the fifth-best state for Black business. Mississippi also has the 3rd highest percentage of Black businesses nationally, with roughly 29% of small businesses being black-owned. Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black residents in its overall population.

The site revealed that Mississippi saw a 5.62% increase in the number of Black businesses from 2022 to 2023. B2B ranked Mississippi as having the 12th highest amount of Black employers. A LendingTree report from February revealed that African Americans in and around Jackson owned businesses at the fifth-highest rate among all U.S. metro areas.

Here are the major companies based in Mississippi

The B2B report revealed some stark statistics for the Magnolia State. The growth of Black business from 2022-2023 was the third lowest nationally. The survival rate of these businesses was the second lowest nationally. Lastly, the median household income for Black families is 68.13% of the state’s median income, according to B2B.

Some programs exist to address these racial disparities. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce has a grant program that targets women and minority-owned small businesses. The Mississippi Kiva Loan Hub organization routinely offers funding to Black business owners.

Black representation and outcomes have received scrutiny outside of the business arena in recent months. In July, a federal court told the state that its current legislative districts dilute Black voting power and must be redrawn. A separate federal lawsuit currently seeks to compel Mississippi to redraw its state supreme court districts for similar reasons.

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