Charlotte Is Among 2023’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business

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Charlotte Stories
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With April 30 kicking off National Small Business Week but many small-business owners still struggling to hire new employees, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business.

In order to help aspiring entrepreneurs maximize their chances for long-term prosperity, WalletHub compared 100 U.S. cities across 19 key indicators of startup viability. The data set ranges from the five-year business-survival rate to labor costs to office-space affordability.

Starting a Business in Charlotte (1=Best; 50=Avg.):

  • 9th – Growth in Number of Small Businesses
  • 37th – Cost of Living
  • 14th – Length of Average Workweek (in Hours)
  • 21st – Share of College-Educated Population
  • 4th – Industry Variety

Best Places to Start a Business

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Business Environment  Access to Resources  Business Costs 
1 Orlando, FL 65.34 2 14 26
2 Jacksonville, FL 62.25 6 46 8
3 Miami, FL 60.78 1 58 47
4 Tampa, FL 60.37 5 52 22
5 Durham, NC 60.15 38 5 21
6 Boise, ID 59.48 3 44 51
7 Atlanta, GA 58.79 8 34 35
8 Charlotte, NC 58.30 11 48 32
9 Fort Worth, TX 58.00 9 15 69
10 Austin, TX 56.86 4 18 81
11 Raleigh, NC 56.64 45 8 31
12 Reno, NV 56.47 34 13 49
13 Winston-Salem, NC 56.37 44 64 1
14 Aurora, CO 55.94 14 85 28
15 Colorado Springs, CO 55.93 26 73 17
16 Denver, CO 55.90 19 23 56
17 Nashville, TN 55.74 21 26 54
18 St. Petersburg, FL 55.19 12 95 19
19 Arlington, TX 54.74 16 32 66
20 Dallas, TX 54.11 17 29 65
21 Lubbock, TX 54.10 56 6 50
22 Hialeah, FL 54.01 10 100 23
23 San Bernardino, CA 53.86 20 69 58
24 Oklahoma City, OK 53.53 57 30 7
25 Tulsa, OK 53.36 54 60 4
26 Irving, TX 53.17 24 19 75
27 Scottsdale, AZ 53.10 7 65 77
28 Phoenix, AZ 52.03 25 81 48
29 Laredo, TX 51.78 60 11 46
30 North Las Vegas, NV 51.77 32 86 38
31 Gilbert, AZ 51.67 13 78 76
32 Indianapolis, IN 51.31 58 71 9
33 Stockton, CA 51.28 53 7 68
34 Madison, WI 51.24 72 3 52
35 Chandler, AZ 51.14 15 90 70
36 Henderson, NV 51.03 33 80 57
37 Las Vegas, NV 50.89 48 68 36
38 Mesa, AZ 50.78 30 94 37
39 Irvine, CA 50.50 23 1 97
40 Sacramento, CA 50.40 39 28 78
41 Columbus, OH 50.24 63 24 40
42 Houston, TX 50.21 47 59 60
43 Fort Wayne, IN 50.20 74 47 5
44 Fresno, CA 49.96 52 25 62
45 Riverside, CA 49.95 28 57 80
46 Glendale, AZ 49.79 29 99 39
47 Louisville, KY 49.59 70 36 18
48 Greensboro, NC 49.25 79 55 2
49 Lincoln, NE 48.87 83 10 34
50 Wichita, KS 48.74 88 20 13
51 Tucson, AZ 48.39 68 63 27
52 Garland, TX 48.36 40 83 71
53 Boston, MA 48.30 65 4 82
54 Kansas City, MO 48.14 82 41 11
55 Albuquerque, NM 48.08 69 76 12
56 Long Beach, CA 48.00 37 31 86
57 Seattle, WA 47.59 35 9 96
58 Los Angeles, CA 47.29 27 43 89
59 Plano, TX 47.20 31 39 90
60 El Paso, TX 47.16 61 92 43
61 San Antonio, TX 46.85 51 79 61
62 Chicago, IL 46.83 62 17 79
63 Portland, OR 46.56 46 40 84
64 Birmingham, AL 46.41 87 72 6
65 Bakersfield, CA 46.40 55 66 74
66 San Diego, CA 46.21 36 33 92
67 Omaha, NE 46.02 71 67 41
68 Norfolk, VA 45.98 66 93 20
69 Milwaukee, WI 45.79 89 51 24
70 Memphis, TN 45.70 76 84 16
71 Honolulu, HI 45.48 91 2 72
72 New Orleans, LA 45.47 75 53 42
73 Baton Rouge, LA 44.86 94 27 30
74 Virginia Beach, VA 44.82 73 75 44
75 San Francisco, CA 44.79 18 12 100
76 Minneapolis, MN 44.48 86 21 64
77 Santa Ana, CA 44.45 22 98 85
78 Lexington-Fayette, KY 44.40 95 22 29
79 Oakland, CA 44.15 41 38 95
80 Cincinnati, OH 44.00 92 49 33
81 Buffalo, NY 43.95 97 62 14
82 St. Paul, MN 43.91 84 45 59
83 Chesapeake, VA 43.83 64 97 45
84 Detroit, MI 43.45 90 87 10
85 Philadelphia, PA 43.18 78 50 67
86 Toledo, OH 42.63 98 74 15
87 Anaheim, CA 42.50 42 91 88
88 Anchorage, AK 42.19 59 77 83
89 Baltimore, MD 42.15 77 88 53
90 Chula Vista, CA 42.08 43 82 91
91 Newark, NJ 41.92 85 42 73
92 San Jose, CA 41.42 49 16 98
93 Cleveland, OH 40.49 99 89 25
94 Corpus Christi, TX 40.08 81 96 55
95 St. Louis, MO 39.85 100 56 3
96 Pittsburgh, PA 39.82 96 61 63
97 New York, NY 38.90 80 35 87
98 Jersey City, NJ 37.67 67 70 93
99 Fremont, CA 37.37 50 54 99
100 Washington, DC 34.50 93 37 94