
The famous song says that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Well, that may be the case if you’re a job-seeker, but if you’re looking to launch your own startup, you’d be far better off in Portsmouth, NH. Or Sioux Falls. Or, believe it or not – Detroit.
The fact of the matter is, big coastal cities, which are supposed to be excellent for entrepreneurs, can be too costly to get startups off the ground. The best cities for entrepreneurs offer a blend of local financing options, a supportive business culture, and a skilled, affordable base of workers.
Since location can make or break a business in the critical first year and beyond, FitSmallBusiness.com, the digital business publication, compiled its annual list of Top Cities for Entrepreneurs to give people a definitive roadmap of the cities that offer the best chance of survival.
Coastal hubs like New York, San Francisco and Miami, which were on last year’s list, don’t make the cut this year. Based on key elements such as access to startup funding, education level of the local workforce, and cost of living, areas like Seattle, Denver and St. Louis topped the 2019 list.
FitSmallBusiness editors collected and analyzed the data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, AngelList, Crunchbase, and INC. to help entrepreneurs make this critical decision.
THIS is where you’ll have the best chance for business survival.
THE TOP 10 BEST CITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS IN 2019
- Seattle
- St. Louis
- Denver
- Detroit
- Nashville
- Salt Lake City
- Portsmouth, NH
- Boston
- Austin
- Sioux Falls, SD
FitSmallBusiness rated the cities on the following criteria including these weighted metrics:
- Business survival rate (15%)
- Economic growth rate (15%)
- New business growth (15%)
- Financial landscape (15%)
- Tax climate (15%)
- Labor market (10%)
- Quality of life (10%)
- Cost of living (5%)
“Let’s face it; most startup businesses don’t last very long,” says Eric Noe, Editor-in-Chief, FitSmallBusiness. He added: “We hope that our research can help our readers find the competitive advantage they need. It may be the key to their business survival.”