Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte rank in top 10 US cities to start a business

KIFI

By CNN Newsource

Published October 8, 2021 11:28 AM

By Jessica Patrick

Jessica Patrick (WRAL) — A LendingTree analysis suggests Raleigh is the best place to start a small business, followed closely by Durham and Charlotte.

The study ranked the 100 largest U.S. metros by population from best to worst for small businesses using nine metro and state-based metrics like tax climate, business survival rate, proportion of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, housing costs, unemployment rate and more.

The best places included:

1. Raleigh

2. Austin, Texas

3. Charlotte

4. Durham

5. Boise, Idaho

6. Minneapolis, Minn.

7. Portland, Ore.

8. Salt Lake City, Utah

9. Nashville, Tenn.

10. St. Louis, Mo.

Raleigh earned the top spot largely because 54.8% of its population is in their prime working years, between ages 25 and 54, the ninth-highest among the 100 metros.

Southern cities dominated the top 10 places to start a small business, according to LendingTree.

The worst places included:

1. Bakersfield, Calif.

2. Stockton, Calif.

3. Fresno, Calif.

4. Toledo, Ohio

5. Riverside, Calif.

6. New Haven, Conn.

7. Honolulu, Hawaii

8. Dayton, Ohio

9. Scranton, Pa.

10. Wichita, Kan.

California was one of the worst places to start a business due to unemployment rate.

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Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

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