There are more than five million companies in the U.S. And more than 76% of them have less than 10 employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Small businesses are an important part of the economy. To determine the best cities in the country for small businesses, we looked at 11 data points from eight reputable sources. Below you will find our results, as well as a detailed methodology explaining how we arrived at them.
To determine the best cities for small business ownership, we analyzed factors relating to taxes as well as the economic and the business environments. We then combined all of these three categories and ranked them from the best to the worst.
The five above were tops, but 195 other cities were under consideration. Where did yours rank?
1 | Boulder, CO | 14 | 6 | 17 |
2 | Fort Collins, CO | 14 | 9 | 19 |
3 | Columbus, OH | 6 | 17 | 26 |
4 | Charlottesville, VA | 1 | 34 | 21 |
5 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 49 | 2 | 8 |
6 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 49 | 3 | 16 |
7 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 6 | 28 | 41 |
8 | Colorado Springs, CO | 14 | 11 | 55 |
9 | Ann Arbor, MI | 29 | 40 | 22 |
10 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 29 | 32 | 34 |
11 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 14 | 24 | 64 |
12 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 49 | 26 | 28 |
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Lansing, MI","29","87","23"],["20","Kalamazoo-Portage, MI","29","61","53"],["21","Amarillo, TX","49","7","88"],["22","Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC","1","37","108"],["23","Greeley, CO","14","8","127"],["24","Lubbock, TX","49","18","87"],["25","Appleton, WI","22","31","111"],["25","Jacksonville, FL","75","44","45"],["27","Barnstable Town, MA","100","30","36"],["27","Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL","75","53","38"],["29","Green Bay, WI","22","50","97"],["30","Waco, TX","49","29","99"],["31","Killeen-Temple, TX","49","25","105"],["32","Gainesville, FL","75","93","15"],["33","Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL","75","63","50"],["34","Roanoke, VA","1","35","155"],["35","Burlington-South Burlington, VT","26","103","63"],["36","Ogden-Clearfield, UT","107","5","82"],["36","Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL","75","72","47"],["38","Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT","36","87","72"],["38","Raleigh, NC","155","10","30"],["40","Sioux Falls, SD","19","12","171"],["41","Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA","112","36","56"],["41","Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA","128","51","25"],["43","Tallahassee, FL","75","119","13"],["44","Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD","20","109","80"],["44","Charleston-North Charleston, SC","66","48","95"],["44","Santa Rosa, CA","166","40","3"],["47","Wilmington, NC","155","38","18"],["48","Dayton, OH","6","55","151"],["48","El Paso, TX","49","61","102"],["50","Lynchburg, VA","1","74","138"],["50","Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI","22","120","71"],["52","Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA","117","13","84"],["52","Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA","91","1","122"],["54","Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL","75","70","70"],["55","Kansas City, MO-KS","120","58","42"],["56","Cleveland-Elyria, OH","6","151","67"],["57","San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA","166","58","1"],["58","Bremerton-Silverdale, WA","128","66","33"],["59","Cedar Rapids, IA","117","22","94"],["59","Lexington-Fayette, KY","27","73","133"],["61","Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI","29","129","76"],["62","Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC","155","21","60"],["62","North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL","75","117","44"],["62","Salt Lake City, UT","107","14","115"],["65","Canton-Massillon, OH","6","123","108"],["66","St. Louis, MO-IL","120","39","81"],["67","Laredo, TX","49","102","90"],["67","Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL","75","106","60"],["69","Manchester-Nashua, NH","65","80","97"],["70","Pittsburgh, PA","40","138","65"],["71","Port St. Lucie, FL","75","125","47"],["72","Worcester, MA-CT","100","27","122"],["73","Portland-South Portland, ME","93","125","32"],["74","Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH","100","49","102"],["74","Durham-Chapel Hill, NC","155","23","73"],["76","Corpus Christi, TX","49","71","133"],["76","Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN","140","20","93"],["76","Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA","166","80","7"],["76","Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD","40","173","40"],["80","Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI","123","42","89"],["80","Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL","75","97","82"],["82","San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA","166","85","4"],["83","Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY","134","91","31"],["83","Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA","40","111","105"],["85","San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA","166","86","5"],["86","Akron, OH","6","136","116"],["86","Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA","166","83","9"],["88","Toledo, OH","6","122","131"],["89","Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX","49","100","114"],["89","Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA","6","125","132"],["91","Savannah, GA","112","76","78"],["92","Louisville\/Jefferson County, KY-IN","27","66","176"],["93","Lincoln, NE","91","19","164"],["93","Olympia-Tumwater, WA","128","120","26"],["95","Vallejo-Fairfield, CA","166","95","14"],["96","Brownsville-Harlingen, TX","49","105","122"],["97","Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL","75","153","49"],["98","Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL","75","145","59"],["99","Huntsville, 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AZ","123","114","84"],["119","Lancaster, PA","40","154","128"],["120","Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA","166","146","11"],["121","Reading, PA","40","150","141"],["122","Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA","166","158","10"],["123","Columbia, SC","66","133","137"],["124","Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA","146","108","84"],["125","Salinas, CA","166","151","28"],["126","Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY","134","113","99"],["127","Fort Wayne, IN","140","51","157"],["128","Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC","112","90","150"],["128","Springfield, MA","100","63","189"],["130","Erie, PA","40","177","138"],["131","New Haven-Milford, CT","36","172","148"],["132","Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA","128","128","105"],["133","Ocala, FL","75","171","118"],["134","Syracuse, NY","134","143","90"],["135","Tucson, AZ","123","133","112"],["136","Oklahoma City, OK","164","45","160"],["137","Champaign-Urbana, IL","186","143","42"],["137","Prescott, AZ","123","169","79"],["139","Atlantic 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