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The Center Square –
The share of Tennessee small businesses still closed compared to January 2020, just prior to the onset of the pandemic, stands at 24.4 percent, the sixth lowest percentage among 45 states examined, according to an online data tracker managed by Harvard University.
Nationwide, as of March 22, the number of small businesses in operation was 35 percent below what the level was in January 2020, according to the Opportunity Insights data tracker.
The data also shows that different types of small businesses were not affected in the same way. One of the largest number of shutdowns occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, in which small businesses suffered closures estimated at 52.4 percent, according to tracker’s numbers.
Data was not available for the states of Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Share of Small Business Closures as of March 22:
| Rank | State | % of Small Businesses Still Shut Down Since January 2020 |
| 1 | Michigan | 39.7% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 39.1% |
| 3 (tie) | Alaska | 38.9% |
| 3 (tie) | Maine | 38.9% |
| 5 | Colorado | 38.8% |
| 6 | Connecticut | 38.5% |
| 7 | New Jersey | 36.9% |
| 8 (tie) | Rhode Island | 36.5% |
| 8 (tie) | Illinois | 36.5% |
| 10 | New Mexico | 36.2% |
| 11 | California | 35.9% |
| 12 | New York | 35.4% |
| 13 | Louisiana | 33.2% |
| 14 | Texas | 32.6% |
| 15 | Georgia | 32.3% |
| 16 | Florida | 32.2% |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 31.9% |
| 18 | Virginia | 31.6% |
| 19 | Arizona | 31.3% |
| 20 | Kansas | 31.0% |
| 21 | Ohio | 30.4% |
| 22 | Mississippi | 29.7% |
| 23 (tie) | Hawaii | 29.5% |
| 23 (tie) | Iowa | 29.5% |
| 25 | Delaware | 29.4% |
| 26 | Maryland | 29.3% |
| 27 (tie) | Kentucky | 29.0% |
| 27 (tie) | Nevada | 29.0% |
| 27 (tie) | Wisconsin | 29.0% |
| 30 | Washington | 28.5% |
| 31 | Indiana | 28.4% |
| 32 | Oregon | 28.1% |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 27.7% |
| 34 | South Carolina | 27.0% |
| 35 | Minnesota | 26.6% |
| 36 | Alabama | 25.9% |
| 37 | Missouri | 25.8% |
| 38 | West Virginia | 25.7% |
| 39 | North Carolina | 25.6% |
| 40 | Tennessee | 24.4% |
| 41 | Utah | 23.5% |
| 42 | Vermont | 23.3% |
| 43 | Arkansas | 21.9% |
| 44 | North Dakota | 19.5% |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 18.3% |
