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 |