With May 1 kicking off National Small Business Week but many small-business owners struggling to hire new employees, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
In order to help aspiring entrepreneurs maximize their chances for long-term prosperity, WalletHub compared 100 U.S. cities across 20 key indicators of startup viability. The data set ranges from the five-year business-survival rate to the percentage of residents who are vaccinated to office-space affordability.
Best Large Cities to Start a Business | |
1. Orlando, FL | 11. Austin, TX |
2. Miami, FL | 12. Aurora, CO |
3. Laredo, TX | 13. Charlotte, NC |
4. Durham, NC | 14. Nashville, TN |
5. Boise, ID | 15. Fort Worth, TX |
6. Denver, CO | 16. Hialeah, FL |
7. Jacksonville, FL | 17. St. Petersburg, FL |
8. Raleigh, NC | 18. Reno, NV |
9. Colorado Springs, CO | 19. Madison, WI |
10. Tampa, FL | 20. Dallas, TX |
Best vs. Worst
- Toledo, Ohio, has the lowest average annual rent for office space, $11.93 per square foot, which is 6.7 times cheaper than in San Francisco, the city with the highest at $80.22 per square foot.
- Cleveland, Ohio has the lowest labor costs (median annual income), $31,838, which is 4.5 times lower than in Fremont, California, the city with the highest at $142,374.
- Laredo, Texas, has the lowest cost-of-living index, 80.00, which is 2.4 times lower than in New York, the city with the highest at 194.90.
- Miami and Hialeah, Florida, have the most startups per 100,000 residents, 248.31, which is 3.5 times more than in Toledo, Ohio, the city with the fewest at 70.06.