Summary: The dream of being an entrepreneur is one we all share, so WalletHub ran a study to determine the best places where new businesses are most successful.
A recent study conducted by WalletHub, a Washington D.C.-based personal finance company, found the best cities to start new businesses. They looked at 150 of the largest cities in the United States and ranked them based on business environment and access to resource factors.
The system of ranking done by WalletHub and 13 business professors was through a 13 category scale where they examined the cost of office space, annual income, taxes, cost of living, education levels, employee availability, the number of already existing small businesses, length of average workday, industry variety, financing availability, and more. Education levels are based on the percentage of the population with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree. Employee availability was determined by subtracting the number of unemployed residents from the total number of job openings. Financing availability took the total annual value of small business loans and divided it by the total number of businesses.
The list showed that California cities are the worst place for entrepreneurs to start a business and cities in the Midwest and South are the best. The number one city to start a business was Shreveport, LA, followed by Tulsa, OK and Springfield, MO. The five California cities of Bakersfield, Stockton, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Fontana make up the list for the fewest small businesses per capita. Arizona cities have the least accessible financing. Irvine, CA and Seattle, WA have the most educated workforce, whereas Santa Ana, CA and San Bernardino, CA are the least educated.
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245538
Photo: calypsoaccounting.co.za