Yates County in western New York ranked first in the state, according to the study. Locally, Columbia County was followed in the top 10 by Ulster County at No. 5, Dutchess County at No. 7 and Saratoga County at No. 8. Greene County ranked 14th.

“Small businesses are typically incorporated as pass-through entities, meaning that the business owners pay income taxes on the company profits rather than the company itself paying the income tax,” according to SmartAsset’s methodology. “Because of this, income taxes can play a major role in determining the financial success of a small business.”

The study measured five factors to determine the best places for small business owners:

■ The proportion of people in a county with small business income.

■ The reported business income.

■ The amount of tax a potential resident must pay on their income.

■ The five-year change of small business tax returns.

■ The five-year change of small business income.

To determine how attractive a region is for small business owners, SmartAsset compared the number of tax returns that report small business income and compared that to the total tax-filing population of the region. Next, SmartAsset compared the total amount of small business income to the overall amount of income reported in each region. Then the company measured the change in these variables over a five-year period.

SmartAsset used the national median household income and then applied relevant deductions and exemptions before calculating federal, state and local income taxes for each location to determine income tax burdens across the counties.

These factors were then indexed and equally weighted to yield the Small Business Index, according to the company. Counties with the highest Small Business Index are the counties that ranked the highest in the state study.

The top five New York counties ranked by Index are Yates (47.86), Columbia (46.85), Putnam (43.68), Suffolk (43.44) and Ulster (42.17).