The best states for female business owners across the US

More and more women are becoming entrepreneurs, but the gender division among business owners still skews male.

Recently, job hunting site Zippia compiled data from the American Community Survey and US Census to produce a state-by-state breakdown of where the most female business owners reside.

The data indicate that southern and midwest states have the lowest rates of female business owners, while states on the West Coast tend to have the most.

Business Insider used Zippia's analysis to produce a map:

There were some exceptions to the general trend of the northwest-southern divide.

Nevada had one of the lowest rates in the country, despite sitting next to Oregon, Idaho, and California, three of the highest-performing states. Similarly, Maine and Vermont had some of the highest rates, at 7.02% and 7.98% respectively, even though they are nestled among low-performing northeast states.

Overall, the best places for women to start businesses iif they want to be surrounded by other female entrepreneurs skew towards the western parts of the US. Still, as Zippia's analysis showed, women from across the country have a harder time getting funding (from private investors, banks, or otherwise) than men do - no matter where they live.