We recently highlighted the best small cities to start a business, and now have the data to look bigger.
To determine the best large cities to start a business, WalletHub compared the relative startup opportunities that exist in 100 U.S. cities. These metrics included the five-year business-survival rate to labor costs to office-space affordability.
10 Best Large Cities to Start a Business
- Orlando, Florida
- Jacksonville, FL
- Miami, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Durham, North Carolina
- Boise, Idaho
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Forth Worth, Texas
- Austin, Texas
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Florida, Florida, Florida
The state of Florida takes the cake here, with four cities coming atop the rankings. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as Florida was recently named as the second-best state to start a small business. Why?
“The Sunshine State sees more than half of its startup businesses survive to at least five years,” according to Lendio. “It’s also a top recipient of small business loan dollars (11th compared to other states). Its entrepreneurs earned nearly $2 billion in 7a loans and $732 million in 504 loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration in fiscal year 2022.”
Of note, Miami and Hialeah, Florida, have the most startups per 100,000 residents, 254.62, which is 3.7 times more than in Toledo, Ohio, the city with the fewest at 67.92.
The SuN Takeaway
The ubiquitous utility of the internet means that you can launch your entrepreneurial dreams just about anywhere, regardless of startup costs. But if you happen to live in Florida, things might be just a little cheaper.
