Large Cities Perfect to Start a Business
With May 4th kicking off National Small Business Week but many small-business owners still struggling to hire new employees, WalletHub has released its report on 2025’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business. In order to help aspiring entrepreneurs maximize their chances for long-term prosperity, WalletHub compared 100 U.S. cities across 19 key indicators of startup viability. The data set ranges from the five-year business-survival rate to labor costs to office-space affordability.
Best Large Cities to Start a Business
- Orlando, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Austin, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Miami, FL
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Boise, ID
- Atlanta, GA
- Raleigh, NC
- Hialeah, FL
- Fort Worth, TX
- Durham, NC
- Charlotte, NC
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Arlington, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Chandler, AZ
- Glendale, AZ
- Aurora, CO
- Mesa, AZ
Best vs. Worst
- Toledo, Ohio, has the lowest average annual rent for office space, which is 6.7 times cheaper than in San Francisco, the city with the highest.
- Cleveland has the lowest labor costs (median annual income), which is 4.5 times lower than in Fremont, California, the city with the highest.
- Laredo, Texas and Toledo, Ohio, have the lowest cost-of-living index, which is 2.2 times lower than in Honolulu, the city with the highest.
- Miami and Hialeah, Florida, have the most startups per 100,000 residents, which is 3.2 times more than in Toledo, Ohio, the city with the fewest.