A recent WalletHub study revealed that four Florida cities lead the ranking as the best cities to start a business in 2023 due to their favorable economic environment in aspects such as business climate, ample access to financial resources, taxes, regulations and low start-up costs.
The report ranked, on a 100-point scale, the country's top 100 metropolitan areas based on 19 metrics divided "into three key dimensions." These metrics reflected which cities have the most favorable conditions in terms of the factors that influence starting a business or entrepreneurship:
- Business Environment: length of the average workweek, average business revenue growth, five-year business survival rate, entrepreneurship rate, and employment growth, among others.
- Access to Resources: accessibility to financing, risk investment, the prevalence of investors, percentage of the population with university education and growth of the working-age population.
- Business costs: affordability of office space, labor costs, corporate taxes and cost of living.
Top 10 best cities to start a business
Each of these cities earned its place in the ranking by having the best conditions for entrepreneurship as a result of an average of all metrics. However, they each stood out in one of the categories:
1. Orlando (Florida) - 65.34: This city's extremely low commercial costs put it at the top of the list.
2. Jacksonville (Florida) -62.25: This city earned second place in the ranking due to its favorable environment, access to resources and ease of getting financing approval.
3. Miami (Florida) - 60.78: Its easy access to financial resources and low business start-up costs put the city in third place.
4. Tampa (Florida) - 60.37: This city came in fourth place due to its easy access to resources, the prevalence of investors and access to financing.
5. Durham (North Carolina) - 60.15: Its ample access to resources and good business environment pushed it up in the ranking.
6. Boise (Idaho) - 59.48: The city ranked third only for its business environment. However, its easy access to resources and low commercial costs put it in sixth place in the overall ranking.
7. Atlanta (Georgia) - 58.79: This city made the list due to its access to resources and low commercial costs.
8. Charlotte (North Carolina) - 58.3: Its easy access to economic resources makes Charlotte a great city for investors.
9. Fort Worth (Texas) - 58: The city's friendly business environment and low cost put it in the country's top ten.
10. Austin (Texas) - 56.86: Its low commercial costs are the city's forte. It is also the city with the highest economic growth records in the last decade.
