Where to start a small business?
Well, Fort Worth ain’t a bad place to be, according to a new study.
Fit Small Business, an online publication serving small business owners, which analyzed and identified the top 15 entrepreneurial cities in the country. Three metropolitan areas in Texas ranked in the Top Ten. The Miami area came in at No. 1 and New York and Los Angeles were No. 2 and 3 respectively. But the Dallas-Fort Worth area was No. 4. And you’re not going to get chicken-fried steak and cream gravy in those other three areas.
The Miami metropolitan area tops the list for a variety of reasons, according to the study. The area boasts the highest percentage of adults starting new businesses every month; 560 new entrepreneurs per 100,000 adults. With that many new entrepreneurs, it’s no wonder that more than 10 percent of businesses there are startups less than one year old. Combine that with well-developed infrastructure, low pollution, and abundant venture capital, and the Miami area easily leads the lists, according to Fit Small Business.
Texas also seems to have many of the winning ingredients for entrepreneurial success. It’s the only state with three metropolitan areas within the top 10. (California has two.) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (#4), Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (#5), and Austin (#8) all have the components for entrepreneurs.
Fit Small Business analyzed publicly-available data from leading sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Kauffman Foundation, National Venture Capital Association, and Thumbtack – to name a few – to create the rankings.
15 Most Entrepreneurial metropolitan statistical areas (MSA):
#1 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach
#2 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
#3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
#4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
#5 Houston-Sugar Land- Baytown
#6 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta
#7 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
#8 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield
#9 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
#10 Washington D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria
#11 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale
#12 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy
#13 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
#14 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
#15 Las Vegas-Paradise
Fit Small Business chose the following ten categories that significantly influence a city’s desirability for entrepreneurs:
Startup Density – 12.5 percent
Rate of New Entrepreneurs – 12.5 percent
Opportunity Share of New Entrepreneurs – 12.5 percent
Venture Capital Investment – 10 percent
Tax Friendliness to Small Businesses – 10 percent
Business as the Primary Source of Income – 10 percent
Infrastructure and Pollution – 10 percent
Annual Payroll – 7.5 percent
Number of Firms with Paid Employees – 7.5 percent
Non-employer Establishments – 7.5 percent
“We had a lot of surprises when we put together this list,” says Eric Noe, Editor-in-Chief, Fit Small Business. “Texas stands out with three metropolitan areas very high on the list, and the East and West Coasts are amply represented. Also, while big cities like New York and L.A. rank high, smaller cities like Orlando and Denver make the Top 15.” He adds, “This shows us that there are areas in the country which will boost your chances of success opening a small business if you take the time to do your research. We hope this list will help in that regard.”