These Are the 20 Best Cities to Start a Business WalletHub's annual survey gives valuable insight into where to set up shop.
By Nina Zipkin •
You can start a business just about anywhere, but some locations might lend themselves better to your company's long-term prospects. Personal finance website WalletHub looked at 100 cities in the U.S. and compared them based on three different categories: business environment, access to resources and business costs.
The top 20 top cities are:
Orlando, FL
Oklahoma City, OK
Miami, FL
Austin, TX
Tampa, FL
Charlotte, NC
Durham, NC
Raleigh, NC
Atlanta, GA
Denver, CO
Fort Worth, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Houston, TX
St. Petersburg, FL
Dallas, TX
San Antonio, TX
Irving, TX
Laredo, TX
Oakland, CA
Irvine, CA
The survey found that number three on the list, Miami, Florida, is home to the most startups per 100,000 residents at 234.72, which is 3.2 times more than in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which is the city with the fewest at 74.40 per 100,000 residents.
Related: Before You Launch Your Business, Make Sure You Have a Safety Net. Here are 13.
If cost of living is a top concern, you might consider number 18 on the list, Laredo, Texas, which has the lowest cost-of-living index according to the study. It's probably not a surprise that tech hub San Francisco has the highest cost-of-living index.
San Francisco has the highest annual rent for office space at $80.22 per square foot, while Toledo, Ohio, has the lowest annual average rent at $11.93 per square foot.
Lincoln, Nebraska, has the most accessible financing while San Bernardino, California, has the least. Detroit, Michigan, has the lowest labor costs with a median annual income of $27,838, which is 4.4 times lower than in Fremont, California, which has the highest labor costs with a median annual income of $122,191.
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