Home
    Reports
    2018’s Best and Worst Places to Start a Small Business
    Full Ranking

    Full Ranking

    Info IconCreated with Sketch.

    Note: We have established our ranking based upon a total of thirty indicators of small business and startup success. Metropolitan areas were ranked against each other in each, which were calculated as percentiles. Ranks reflect a weighted average of these percentiles, as detailed in our methodology section. Percentile ranks are included here for selected highly important indicators.

    By default cities are sorted
    by a general rank. You could sort by other parameter.

    State
    Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
    Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
    Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
    Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
    Madison, WI
    Lincoln, NE
    Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Fort Collins, CO
    Austin-Round Rock, TX
    Springfield, MA
    Lafayette, LA
    Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
    Green Bay, WI
    Toledo, OH
    Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Dayton, OH
    Lubbock, TX
    Baton Rouge, LA
    Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
    Richmond, VA
    Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
    San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
    South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
    Evansville, IN-KY
    Roanoke, VA
    Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
    New Haven-Milford, CT
    Columbus, OH
    Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
    Knoxville, TN
    Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
    Winston-Salem, NC
    Akron, OH
    Cleveland-Elyria, OH
    Kennewick-Richland, WA
    Portland-South Portland, ME
    Rochester, NY
    New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
    Worcester, MA-CT
    Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
    Asheville, NC
    Wichita, KS
    New Orleans-Metairie, LA
    Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
    Memphis, TN-MS-AR
    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
    Albuquerque, NM
    Huntsville, AL
    Canton-Massillon, OH
    Waco, TX
    Syracuse, NY
    Trenton, NJ
    Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA
    Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
    Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
    Birmingham-Hoover, AL
    Manchester-Nashua, NH
    Lynchburg, VA
    Raleigh, NC
    Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
    Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
    Chattanooga, TN-GA
    San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
    Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
    Greeley, CO
    Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
    Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
    Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
    Urban Honolulu, HI
    Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
    Oklahoma City, OK
    Rockford, IL
    Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
    Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV
    Lansing-East Lansing, MI
    Peoria, IL
    Erie, PA
    Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
    Kansas City, MO-KS
    Utica-Rome, NY
    Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
    Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA
    Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
    Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
    Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
    Corpus Christi, TX
    Lexington-Fayette, KY
    Montgomery, AL
    Reading, PA
    Tulsa, OK
    Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
    Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
    Olympia-Tumwater, WA
    Savannah, GA
    San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
    St. Louis, MO-IL
    Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
    Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
    Flint, MI
    San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
    Gainesville, FL
    El Paso, TX
    Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Springfield, MO
    Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
    North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
    Greensboro-High Point, NC
    McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
    Columbus, GA-AL
    Lancaster, PA
    Eugene, OR
    Norwich-New London, CT
    Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
    Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
    Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
    Fayetteville, NC
    Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA
    Salem, OR
    Wilmington, NC
    Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
    Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO
    Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
    Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC
    Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
    Vallejo-Fairfield, CA
    Mobile, AL
    Jackson, MS
    Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
    Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
    Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
    Tucson, AZ
    York-Hanover, PA
    Reno, NV
    Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
    Jacksonville, FL
    Ocala, FL
    Spartanburg, SC
    Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
    Ogden-Clearfield, UT
    Anchorage, AK
    Salisbury, MD-DE
    Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
    Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
    Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
    Bremerton-Silverdale, WA
    Columbia, SC
    Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC
    Boise City, ID
    Fort Smith, AR-OK
    Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
    Clarksville, TN-KY
    Port St. Lucie, FL
    Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
    Provo-Orem, UT
    Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
    San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA **
    Salinas, CA **
    Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA **
    Fresno, CA ***
    Visalia-Porterville, CA***
    Modesto, CA ***
    Stockton-Lodi, CA ***
    Merced, CA ***
    Bakersfield, CA ****
    Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ****
    Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL *****
    Tallahassee, FL *****
    Charleston-North Charleston, SC
    State Rank Office Rent Educational Attainment Income Growth Number of Businesses Per Capita Five-Year Startup Survival Rate
    Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 1 0.84 0.23 0.54 0.45 0.48
    Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 2 0.74 0.44 0.36 0.73 0.54
    Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 3 0.5 0.65 0.06 0.96 0.51
    Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 4 0.55 0.33 0.14 0.15 0.5
    Madison, WI 5 0.33 0.26 0.83 0.62 0.51
    Lincoln, NE 6 0.88 0.3 0.66 0.44 0.55
    Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 7 0.5 0.53 0.26 0.83 0.51
    Pittsburgh, PA 8 0.42 0.47 0.81 0.74 0.54
    Fort Collins, CO 9 0.17 0.24 0.89 0.8 0.48
    Austin-Round Rock, TX 10 0.09 0.32 0.34 0.21 0.52
    Springfield, MA 11 0.5 0.47 0.06 0.75 0.53
    Lafayette, LA 12 0.96 0.2 0.91 0.46 0.51
    Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 13 0.88 0.28 0.5 0.19 0.55
    Green Bay, WI 14 0.98 0.21 0.09 0.58 0.5
    Toledo, OH 15 0.74 0.61 0.86 0.85 0.5
    Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 16 0.98 0.38 0.47 0.66 0.49
    Fort Wayne, IN 17 0.95 0.66 0.8 0.57 0.51
    Dayton, OH 18 0.96 0.31 0.11 0.27 0.51
    Lubbock, TX 19 0.84 0.24 0.54 0.19 0.48
    Baton Rouge, LA 20 0.69 0.45 0.15 0.41 0.5
    Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 21 0.46 0.33 0.14 0.1 0.52
    Richmond, VA 22 0.82 0.58 0.72 0.31 0.51
    Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 23 0.98 0.28 0.42 0.09 0.49
    San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 24 0.66 0.39 0.61 0.55 0.49
    Colorado Springs, CO 25 0.93 0.48 0.51 0.59 0.46
    Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 26 0.99 0.24 0.32 0.42 0.51
    South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 27 0.56 0.4 0.15 0.38 0.51
    Evansville, IN-KY 28 0.69 0.39 0.3 0.59 0.5
    Roanoke, VA 29 0.9 0.44 0.1 0.44 0.51
    Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 30 0.74 0.45 0.44 0.61 0.5
    New Haven-Milford, CT 31 0.87 0.26 0.08 0.67 0.51
    Columbus, OH 32 0.03 0.38 0.3 0.74 0.5
    Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 33 0.17 0.61 0.7 0.54 0.49
    Knoxville, TN 34 0.82 0.43 0.72 0.14 0.51
    Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 35 0.5 0.43 0.32 0.87 0.49
    Winston-Salem, NC 36 0.18 0.38 0.16 0.26 0.48
    Akron, OH 37 0.81 0.5 0.47 0.3 0.49
    Cleveland-Elyria, OH 38 0.5 0.61 0.3 0.88 0.51
    Kennewick-Richland, WA 39 1 0.57 0.64 0.38 0.51
    Portland-South Portland, ME 40 0.91 0.37 0.72 0.57 0.47
    Rochester, NY 41 0.33 0.46 0.3 0.29 0.5
    New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 42 0.3 0.46 0.11 0.28 0.52
    Worcester, MA-CT 43 0.74 0.23 0.97 0.95 0.52
    Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 44 0.76 0.35 0.11 0.62 0.5
    Asheville, NC 45 1 0.67 0.68 0.51 0.52
    Wichita, KS 46 0.4 0.46 0.17 0.32 0.53
    New Orleans-Metairie, LA 47 0.65 0.3 0.66 0.93 0.49
    Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 48 0.87 0.4 0.47 0.38 0.51
    Memphis, TN-MS-AR 49 0.79 0.41 0.24 0.69 0.49
    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 50 0.17 0.58 0.47 0.24 0.5
    Albuquerque, NM 51 0.67 0.35 0.3 0.54 0.5
    Huntsville, AL 52 0.57 0.53 0.07 0.39 0.47
    Canton-Massillon, OH 53 1 0.56 0.88 0.39 0.51
    Waco, TX 54 0.3 0.36 0.62 0.48 0.53
    Syracuse, NY 55 0.14 0.28 0.51 0.82 0.51
    Trenton, NJ 56 0.83 0.35 0.19 0.5 0.49
    Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 57 0.72 0.68 0.07 0.43 0.49
    Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 58 0.24 0.56 0.13 0.9 0.5
    Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 59 0.76 0.31 0.09 0.53 0.5
    Birmingham-Hoover, AL 60 0.3 0.54 0.19 0.74 0.49
    Manchester-Nashua, NH 61 0.87 0.37 0.21 0.22 0.51
    Lynchburg, VA 62 0.21 0.4 0.21 0.2 0.49
    Raleigh, NC 63 0.91 0.47 0.89 0.69 0.47
    Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 64 0.85 0.38 0.5 0.35 0.5
    Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 65 0.59 0.57 0.44 0.53 0.48
    Ann Arbor, MI 66 0.9 0.52 0.68 0.45 0.5
    Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 67 0.81 0.53 0.56 0.26 0.48
    Chattanooga, TN-GA 68 0.12 0.37 0.7 0.7 0.51
    San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 69 0.17 0.21 0.96 0.03 0.48
    Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 70 0.42 0.6 0.96 0.77 0.51
    Greeley, CO 71 0.3 0.44 0.83 0.95 0.53
    Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 72 0.95 0.47 0.13 0.3 0.5
    Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 73 0.98 0.44 0.35 0.49 0.5
    Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 74 0.54 0.45 0.42 0.22 0.5
    Urban Honolulu, HI 75 0.3 0.52 0.06 0.19 0.52
    Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 76 0.91 0.59 0.38 0.68 0.48
    Oklahoma City, OK 77 0.64 0.32 0.21 0.34 0.5
    Rockford, IL 78 0.04 0.22 0.05 0.2 0.5
    Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 79 0.6 0.46 0.62 0.86 0.47
    Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 80 0.97 0.59 0.68 0.56 0.53
    Lansing-East Lansing, MI 81 0.45 0.32 0.61 0.18 0.47
    Peoria, IL 82 0.79 0.33 0.53 0.3 0.47
    Erie, PA 83 0.09 0.42 0.4 0.1 0.47
    Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 84 0.39 0.3 0.3 0.12 0.48
    Kansas City, MO-KS 85 0.3 0.5 0.54 0.43 0.53
    Utica-Rome, NY 86 0.21 0.51 0.73 0.68 0.49
    Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 87 0.63 0.43 0.66 0.24 0.49
    Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 88 0.3 0.59 0.26 0.46 0.5
    Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 89 0.3 0.52 0.51 0.94 0.49
    Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 90 0.33 0.66 0.19 0.26 0.5
    Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 91 0.63 0.34 0.44 0.56 0.48
    Corpus Christi, TX 92 0.1 0.34 0.56 0.63 0.47
    Lexington-Fayette, KY 93 0.43 0.45 0.42 0.4 0.49
    Montgomery, AL 94 0.79 0.62 0.61 0.36 0.49
    Reading, PA 95 0.21 0.5 0.24 0.13 0.49
    Tulsa, OK 96 0.3 0.57 0.7 0.41 0.53
    Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 97 0.38 0.38 0.47 0.36 0.47
    Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 98 0.64 0.41 0.26 0.44 0.5
    Olympia-Tumwater, WA 99 0.08 0.24 0.5 0.84 0.48
    Savannah, GA 100 0.91 0.51 0.21 0.65 0.48
    San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 101 0.12 0.22 0.73 0.81 0.5
    St. Louis, MO-IL 102 0.44 0.31 0.34 0.92 0.46
    Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 103 0.81 0.28 0.03 0.72 0.47
    Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 104 0.56 0.4 0.08 0.29 0.5
    Flint, MI 105 0.67 0.43 0.51 0.06 0.49
    San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 106 0.23 0.4 0.4 0.49 0.48
    Gainesville, FL 107 0.54 0.69 0.62 0.35 0.5
    El Paso, TX 108 0.21 0.49 0.21 0.64 0.49
    Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 109 0.3 0.31 0.81 0.73 0.53
    Santa Rosa, CA 110 0.54 0.61 0.36 0.47 0.49
    Springfield, MO 111 0.08 0.34 0.24 0.16 0.48
    Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 112 0.93 0.59 0.38 0.37 0.46
    North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 113 0.77 0.66 0.87 0.04 0.49
    Greensboro-High Point, NC 114 0.64 0.32 0.84 0.67 0.44
    McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 115 0.4 0.32 0.53 0.86 0.49
    Columbus, GA-AL 116 0.84 0.51 0.58 0.37 0.46
    Lancaster, PA 117 0.03 0.36 0.19 0.91 0.48
    Eugene, OR 118 0.4 0.41 0.47 0.92 0.51
    Norwich-New London, CT 119 0.36 0.46 0.16 0.07 0.43
    Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 120 0.05 0.45 0.26 0.87 0.46
    Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 121 0.69 0.36 0.26 0.21 0.48
    Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 122 0.13 0.45 0.17 0.94 0.49
    Fayetteville, NC 123 0.77 0.64 0.89 0.04 0.49
    Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 124 0.58 0.64 0.38 0.11 0.49
    Salem, OR 125 0.52 0.18 0.17 0.54 0.47
    Wilmington, NC 126 0.48 0.54 0.56 0.29 0.47
    Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 127 0.68 0.49 0.53 0.79 0.46
    Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 128 0.12 0.53 0.71 0.23 0.5
    Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 129 0.65 0.38 0.84 0.52 0.48
    Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 130 0.23 0.36 0.35 0.72 0.47
    Salt Lake City, UT 131 0.34 0.27 0.17 0.13 0.45
    Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 132 0.03 0.56 0.17 0.17 0.49
    Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 133 0.71 0.5 0.77 0.36 0.46
    Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 134 0.15 0.22 0.01 0.49 0.43
    Mobile, AL 135 0.03 0.53 0.32 0.09 0.48
    Jackson, MS 136 0.3 0.44 0.76 0.15 0.53
    Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 137 0.76 0.43 0.01 0.79 0.49
    Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 138 0.95 0.66 0.61 0.71 0.48
    Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 139 0.05 0.57 0.44 0.9 0.45
    Tucson, AZ 140 0.36 0.6 0.21 0.08 0.44
    York-Hanover, PA 141 0.48 0.5 0.56 0.5 0.45
    Reno, NV 142 0.86 0.24 0.51 0.99 0.46
    Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 143 0.68 0.62 0.44 0.75 0.46
    Jacksonville, FL 144 0.3 0.36 0.5 0.97 0.49
    Ocala, FL 145 0.21 0.37 0.82 0.39 0.48
    Spartanburg, SC 146 0.48 0.62 0.89 0.25 0.46
    Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 147 0 0.4 0.08 0.52 0.48
    Ogden-Clearfield, UT 148 0.03 0.53 0.09 0.67 0.48
    Anchorage, AK 149 0.65 0.29 0.83 0.99 0.48
    Salisbury, MD-DE 150 0.55 0.54 0.66 0.68 0.46
    Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 151 0.34 0.22 0.19 0.02 0.45
    Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 152 0.06 0.5 0.26 0.41 0.49
    Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 153 0.38 0.56 0.44 0.61 0.46
    Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 154 0.23 0.48 0.04 0.47 0.41
    Columbia, SC 155 0.52 0.3 0.26 0.58 0.47
    Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 156 0.21 0.44 0.66 0.28 0.48
    Boise City, ID 157 0.48 0.46 0.66 0.65 0.46
    Fort Smith, AR-OK 158 0.7 0.28 0.03 0.12 0.47
    Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 159 0.48 0.27 0.75 0.03 0.47
    Clarksville, TN-KY 159 0.1 0.57 0.73 0.11 0.47
    Port St. Lucie, FL 160 0.05 0.61 0.47 0.63 0.46
    Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 161 0.95 0.46 0.01 0.51 0.49
    Provo-Orem, UT 162 0.34 0.29 0.34 0.02 0.45
    Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 163 0.57 0.46 0.11 0.32 0.48
    San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA ** 164 0.08 0.27 0.42 0.97 0.48
    Salinas, CA ** 165 0.08 0.21 0.16 0.77 0.48
    Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ** 166 0 0.33 0.11 0.82 0.48
    Fresno, CA *** 167 0.62 0.6 0.26 0.14 0.48
    Visalia-Porterville, CA*** 168 0.62 0.56 0.54 0.09 0.48
    Modesto, CA *** 169 0.62 0.63 0.4 0.15 0.48
    Stockton-Lodi, CA *** 170 0.15 0.62 0.38 0.07 0.48
    Merced, CA *** 171 0.62 0.64 0.44 0.01 0.48
    Bakersfield, CA **** 172 0.62 0.63 0.19 0.05 0.48
    Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA **** 173 0.23 0.63 0.21 0.07 0.47
    Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL ***** 174 0.86 0.51 0.64 0.38 0.46
    Tallahassee, FL ***** 175 0.43 0.63 0.36 0.5 0.46
    Charleston-North Charleston, SC 176 0.05 0.4 0.64 0.71 0.48

    ** Grouped as Central Coast, California

    *** Grouped as Central Valley, California

    **** Grouped as Inland Empire & Bakersfield, California

    ***** Grouped as Florida Panhandle