Country43 researched factors

Starting a small business in United States (2026): costs, wages, rent, licences

United States at a glance

The US is 50 different rule-books: the federal layer is thin (EIN, $7.25 minimum wage, FICA payroll tax), and almost everything a small shop pays for is set by the state, county or city: minimum wage ($7.25 in Texas to $16.90+ in California), sales tax (0–10%+), LLC fees ($50 to $800/yr), food-truck permits and health inspections. Labour is the dominant cost (wages are 10–20× Indian levels while rents per sq ft are 5–20×), customers pay by card and tip, and the big demand peaks are Thanksgiving-to-Christmas, Super Bowl and summer. Health insurance and liability insurance are real costs with no Indian equivalent.

MetroNew York City

Mid-size cityColumbus, Ohio

Small townChillicothe, Ohio

Business ideas in United States

United States at a glance

Cities used for the three sizes: New York City · Columbus, Ohio · Chillicothe, Ohio

	United States
Minimum wage, monthly	$1,906
Unskilled day wage	$88
Shop rent, metro (per sq ft/month)	$8Estimate
Shop rent, mid-size city	$1.6Estimate
Shop rent, small town	$0.9Estimate
Commercial power, per kWh	$0.139
Commercial LPG cylinder	$25Estimate
Petrol, per litre	$1.13
Cup of tea / coffee	$2.75Estimate
Simple meal	$13Estimate
Men's haircut	$25Estimate
Milk, 1 litre	$1.11Estimate
Bread loaf	$2.5Estimate

Taxes

Sales Tax	No federal sales tax/VAT; state + local sales tax 0–10%+ (Ohio 5.75% state, about 8% in Columbus; CA 7.25% base; TX 6.25%; NY 4% + NYC 4.5% + MCTD 0.375% = 8.875%; FL 6%). Many states exempt groceries.
Small Biz Threshold	No small-business exemption from sales-tax collection: a seller must register from the first taxable sale in its home state. Out-of-state remote-seller nexus is usually $100,000 of sales (post-Wayfair).
Local Levies	Employer FICA 7.65%, FUTA 0.6% on first $7,000 per worker, state unemployment insurance (rate varies), workers' comp; city/county business licences and some city income taxes (Columbus 2.5%)

Licences and registrations

Rules vary by state and city: confirm with your municipal office.

Licences and registrations	Fee	Authority	Source
Federal EIN (employer ID number)	Free, issued online the same day	IRS	irs.gov
LLC formation (Ohio Articles of Organization)	$99 one-time; no annual report fee in Ohio	Ohio Secretary of State	ohiosos.gov
LLC formation, California (plus annual franchise tax)	$70 filing + $800/yr minimum franchise tax + $20 Statement of Information every 2 yrs	CA Secretary of State / Franchise Tax Board	ftb.ca.gov
Vendor's license (sales tax permit), Ohio	$25 per location (county auditor/Ohio Business Gateway)	Ohio Department of Taxation	tax.ohio.gov
Retail food establishment / mobile food licence (Columbus Public Health)	Est. $300–$1,000/yr depending on risk class and size	Local health department	Est.: Ohio retail-food licence fees are set by each local health district under ORC 3717; typical published fees are in the $300–$1,000 band
Food handler card / food protection manager certificate	$10–$15 food handler card; $100–$180 ServSafe Manager exam	State/county health code (e.g. CA H&S Code §113948)	leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

Festivals and demand

Festivals and demand	Dates (2026–27)	Effect on trade
Halloween	31 Oct 2026	candy, costume, bakery and bar demand spike
Thanksgiving / Black Friday / Small Business Saturday	26–28 Nov 2026	Thursday most shops shut; Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are the year's biggest retail weekend
Christmas / holiday season	late Nov – 25 Dec 2026	retail peak, about 19–20% of annual retail sales for many stores; many close 25 Dec
Super Bowl LXI	14 Feb 2027	takeaway food, wings, pizza and beer demand surge
Memorial Day	31 May 2027	start of summer; BBQ, ice cream and food-truck season opens
Independence Day	4 Jul 2027 (observed Mon 5 Jul)	events and fireworks; food trucks and stalls busy, offices closed
Labor Day / back-to-school	6 Sep 2027 (back-to-school late Jul–Aug)	back-to-school retail peak; end of summer season

Seasons and weather

Dec–Feb · Winter: snow and ice cut foot traffic in the north/Midwest; outdoor vending mostly stops in Ohio, NY
May–Sep · Peak season for food trucks, ice cream, festivals and patios
Jun–Nov · Atlantic hurricane season: Florida, Gulf Coast Texas, Carolinas face closures and power cuts
Jul–Oct · Western wildfire season: smoke days and power-shutoff events in California and the West

How people pay

DigitalShare · Cards dominate: cash is about 15% of payments by count (Fed diary, 2024 data); card fees about 2.6% + 15¢ on Square
Credit · Consumer credit cards are universal; trade credit (net-30) common B2B; tipping 15–20% expected in sit-down service and common at counters

Where costs and rules differ most

California · $16.90 state minimum wage (fast-food $20), $800/yr LLC franchise tax, strict county health permits for food trucks and cottage food, highest commercial power (about 23¢/kWh)
Texas · no state income tax and federal $7.25 minimum wage; $300 LLC fee; 6.25% state sales tax plus local up to 8.25%; food-truck rules set city by city (Austin, Houston); Gulf hurricane risk
New York · $17 minimum wage downstate / $16 upstate; NYC mobile vending permits capped with long waitlists; 8.875% NYC sales tax; LLC publication requirement adds cost
Florida · minimum wage stepped to $15 on 30 Sep 2026; no personal income tax; state DBPR mobile food licence valid statewide; hurricane season disruption
Washington · among the highest state minimum wages, Seattle higher still; no income tax but B&O gross-receipts tax on revenue
Illinois · $15 state minimum wage, Chicago higher; Chicago restaurant and sales taxes among the country's highest
Ohio · baseline mid-cost state: $11.00 minimum wage, $99 LLC, 5.75% state sales tax, municipal income taxes; fastest commercial power price rises in 2026

43 researched factors

JSON · Source · Estimate

43 researched factors
Factor	Typical value in India	Source
Federal minimum wage	$7.25/hour (unchanged since 2009; applies where states set no higher rate, e.g. Texas)	dol.gov
Ohio minimum wage 2026 (T2/T3 baseline)	$11.00/hour non-tipped, $5.50 tipped, for employers with >$405,000 gross receipts	wcpo.com
State minimum wages for key states	California $16.90; New York $17.00 (NYC/LI/Westchester), $16.00 upstate; Florida $15.00 from 30 Sep 2026; Texas $7.25	paycom.com
Unskilled day wage (basket)	$88 (Ohio $11 × 8 h)	Derived from P02
Minimum monthly wage, full-time (basket)	$1,906 ($11 × 40 h × 52 / 12)	Derived from P02
Typical shop/counter helper pay	$13–$16/hour in Ohio; $18–$22 in NYC; tipped staff often paid tipped minimum plus tipsEstimate	Est.: entry retail/food-service pay ru…
Employer payroll taxes	FICA 7.65% (Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%); FUTA 0.6% net on first $7,000 per worker; state unemployment (Ohio new-employer rate about 2.7%)	irs.gov
Workers' compensation and benefits	Workers' comp is compulsory (Ohio state fund; about 1–3% of payroll for retail/food); health insurance mandate only at 50+ full-time staff (ACA)Estimate	irs.gov
Shop rent, T1 (NYC neighbourhood retail)	$8.0/sq ft/month (about $90–$110/sq ft/yr outside prime Manhattan corridors)Estimate	Est.: REBNY/brokerage reports put NYC …
Shop rent, T2 (Columbus strip mall)	$1.6/sq ft/month (about $18–$20/sq ft/yr, plus NNN charges of $4–$6/yr)Estimate	Est.: Columbus retail asking rents in …
Shop rent, T3 (small-town Main Street)	$0.9/sq ft/month (about $9–$12/sq ft/yr)Estimate	Est.: small-town Ohio storefront listi…
Commercial electricity price	$0.139/kWh national average, H1 2026 (California about $0.23; Hawaii about $0.42); Ohio among the fastest risers in 2026	startbusinessbystate.com
Gasoline (regular)	$4.29/gallon = $1.13/litre national average on 25 Oct 2026 (elevated by the 2026 Iran/Hormuz oil shock; about $2.90–$3.10 in Jan 2026)	gasprices.aaa.com
Propane cylinder (basket LPG equivalent)	$25 for a 20 lb (9 kg) tank exchange; food trucks commonly run 2–4 tanks or a 40–100 lb cylinderEstimate	Est.: big-box tank-exchange prices wer…
Takeaway coffee (basket teaCup)	$2.75 for a small drip coffee in Columbus (latte $4.50–$5.50)Estimate	Est.: chain drip coffee is $2.25–$3.25…
Cheap meal (basket simpleMeal)	$13 fast-food combo or diner plate before tipEstimate	Est.: fast-food combo meals averaged a…
Men's haircut (basket)	$25 at a barber in a mid-size city (plus about $5 tip)Estimate	Est.: chain salons (Great Clips) about…
Milk and bread (basket)	Milk $4.20/gallon = $1.11/L; white bread loaf $2.50Estimate	bls.gov
Sole proprietorship	No state filing needed; a 'DBA'/trade name filing costs about $25–$100 (Ohio trade name $39); owner pays 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit	irs.gov
LLC formation fees by state	Ohio $99 (no annual fee); Texas $300; New York $200 + publication (often $300–$1,500+ in NYC); Florida $125 + $138.75 annual report; California $70 + $800/yr	ohiosos.gov
Beneficial ownership (BOI) reporting	US-formed companies exempted from FinCEN BOI reporting by the March 2025 interim rule	fincen.gov
Sales tax rates	Ohio 5.75% state (Franklin County total about 8.0%); California 7.25% base (up to about 10.75%); Texas 6.25% + up to 2%; NYC 8.875%; Florida 6% + county surtax; Oregon/Montana/NH/DE none	taxfoundation.org
Sales-tax registration threshold	No small-seller exemption in your home state; remote-seller economic nexus usually $100,000/yr (South Dakota v. Wayfair, 2018)	supremecourt.gov
Local income taxes	Many Ohio cities tax wages and net business profit (Columbus 2.5%); NYC unincorporated business tax 4%	columbus.gov
Food handler / manager certification	Food handler cards $10–$15 online (required in CA, TX, IL, WA and others); most states require one certified food protection manager (ServSafe Manager $100–$180)	leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Food-truck permits	Typically $500–$2,500/yr in health permits, fire inspection and city vending licences; plus commissary kitchen rent of $400–$1,200/month where requiredEstimate	Est.: city/county fee schedules vary w…
Cottage food laws (home-baked goods)	All states allow some home food sales without a commercial kitchen; caps and rules differ (e.g. California $75,000–$150,000/yr limits, Texas no cap)	cdph.ca.gov
Card processing fees	Square 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 2.9% + 30¢ online; interchange plus markup 2–3% typical; card surcharges allowed in most states (banned in CT, MA) with caps	squareup.com
Cash share of payments	Cash about 15–16% of consumer payments by number (2024); some cities (NYC, Philadelphia, SF) require shops to accept cash	atlantafed.org
Tipping culture	15–20% at sit-down service; tip screens at counters; tipped workers can be paid a lower base wage in most states	dol.gov
SBA microloans and 7(a)	SBA microloans up to $50,000 via nonprofit intermediaries; 7(a) loans up to $5 million with government guarantee	sba.gov
General liability insurance	About $40–$80/month for a small shop or food truck ($1M cover)Estimate	Est.: insurer marketplace quotes for s…
Alcohol and tobacco	Alcohol licences are state-controlled and can cost $1,000s to $100,000s where quota-capped; tobacco/vape sale age 21 federally	fda.gov
Plastic bag and foam bans	About a dozen states (CA, NY, NJ, others) ban single-use plastic bags; polystyrene foam containers banned in several states and cities	ncsl.org
Per-capita personal income	About $73,000 (2025); Ohio about $63,000Estimate	bea.gov
Urbanisation and language	About 80% urban (2020 Census); English dominant, Spanish spoken at home by about 13%	census.gov
Federal holidays and trading	11 federal holidays; private shops may open, but Thanksgiving and Christmas Day closures are near universal; no Sunday trading law in most states	opm.gov
Hurricane landfall	Florida/Gulf/Carolinas: several days' closure, power loss and stock spoilage in a bad season (Jun–Nov)	nhc.noaa.gov
Winter storm / polar vortex	Northern states lose 1–5 trading days a winter; Texas grid failure (Feb 2021) shows power-loss tail risk	weather.gov
Wildfire smoke and power shutoffs	California and the West: smoke days empty outdoor dining; utility Public Safety Power Shutoffs last 1–3 days	cpuc.ca.gov
Fuel and input price shock	2026 oil shock pushed gasoline from about $3 to $4.50/gal by Sep 2026, raising delivery, propane and food-truck costs	gasprices.aaa.com
Tariff-driven import cost rises	2025–26 import tariffs raised prices of imported equipment, packaging and some foods by 10%+Estimate	Est.: broad US tariffs imposed in 2025…
Most-searched small-business types	Food truck, coffee shop, bakery/home bakery, cleaning service, lawn care, barbershop/salon, vending machines, laundromat, convenience store, car washEstimate	Est.: recurring top results in Google …

Business ideas in United States

Our 30 researched guides use Indian numbers. United States-specific guides are being researched; the simulator can already use United States wages and prices.