Five of the Best Cities for Starting a Business

Five of the Best Cities for Starting a Business

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

One of the most important factors when considering starting a business is where that business will be located. We are going to take a look at 10 cities that are HOT SPOTS for new entrepreneurs. Each of these cities have attractive qualities that you should keep in mind when choosing your base of operation and home for that matter.

  1. Columbus, Ohio

columbus ohio

Population: 1.8 million

Number of small businesses per 10,000 people:  105 (US average: 131)

Percentage of population with bachelor’s degrees: 33.4% (US: 5.7%)

Unemployment rate: 4.3% (US: 5.7%)

Not only is Columbus a great place to begin a start-up, they have an entire week dedicated to it. Columbus Startup Week is a five-day celebration of the Columbus startup ecosystem that showcases a wide range of startup entrepreneurs, founders, investors and other big names in the business. That’s why this city hits the top of our list.

  1. Denver, Colorado

denver colorado

Population: 2.6 million

Number of small businesses per 10,000 people:  172

Percentage of population with bachelor’s degrees: 38.8%

Unemployment rate: 4.0%

Denver may have slightly higher than average living costs, but for local businesses, that is not the case. It is actually quite affordable for businesses. There are many startups in the city. A few to look out for are: Cheddar Up, a simple way to track and collect online group payments. Myhub is a fast, easy way to plan group activities and pool cash with friends. And, last by certainly not least, TekDry Device Rescue. We all have known someone who has damaged their phone with water. TekDry provides a service to rescue the data from those devices in as little as 30 minutes.

  1. Indianapolis, Indiana

indianapolis indiana

Population: 1.8 million

Number of small businesses per 10,000 people:  128

Percentage of population with bachelor’s degrees: 31.3%

Unemployment rate: 4.8%

Indianapolis startups are booming.  Indianapolis has several pros on its side: affordable living costs, and Indiana capital’s business costs are at 3.8% below the average. Also, a huge plus for Indianapolis, the Tax Foundation ranks Indiana among the 10 states with the best business tax climate. In July 2015, the state lowered their corporate income tax to 6.5% from 8.5% back in 2012.

  1. Des Moines, Iowa

desmoines iowa

Population: 571,592

Number of small businesses per 10,000 people:  133

Percentage of population with bachelor’s degrees: 34.0%

Unemployment rate: 4.1%    

Des Moines low living costs draw business owners to the area at 16.9% below the national average. Having a smaller population does not mean they have smaller opportunities. In fact, it’s just the opposite. A few of Des Moines very own startups are FunnelWise, a revenue funnel analytics startup, Men’s Style Lab, which is a subscription clothing company, and AgriSync, a startup that provides remote support services to farmers in the field. Des Moines also has several organizations out there to help entrepreneurs get started.

  1. Salt Lake City, Utah

salt lake city utah

Population: 1.1 million

Number of small businesses per 10,000 people:  146

Percentage of population with bachelor’s degrees: 30.9%

Unemployment rate: 3.2%

Salt Lake City has cheap living costs and at 3.4% below the national average, the business costs are affordable as well. According to the Tax Foundation, Salt Lake City is rated the ninth-best state for business tax climates.

 

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin