Financial site WalletHub has identified the best small cities in which to start a business, based on the business environment, access to resources and business costs. In a survey of 1,268 U.S. cities, the site identified 20 stand-outs.
WalletHub’s 20 best small cities to start a business include:
- Holland, Michigan
- North Chicago, Illinois
- Brighton, New York
- Jefferson City, Missouri
- La Vergne, Tennessee
- Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
- Clearfield, Utah
- Dothan, Alabama
- Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Deerfield Beach, Florida
- Enid, Oklahoma
- Wilson, North Carolina
- Irondequoit, New York
- East Chicago, Indiana
- Deer Park, Texas
- Midvale, Utah
- Chesterfield, Missouri
- Riviera Beach, Florida
- Maryland Heights, Missouri
- Rapid City, South Dakota
To arrive at its list, WalletHub compiled and weighted 15 relevant metrics. Each was given a value between zero and 100, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for a new business and zero the least. WalletHub’s metrics include length of average work week, average growth in number of small businesses, number of startups per 100,000 residents, average revenue per business, average growth of business revenues, industry variety, financing accessibility, prevalence of investors, employee availability, higher-education assets, workforce educational attainment, office-space affordability, median annual income, corporate taxes and cost of living.
Click here for the full report.