Best Large Cities to Start a Business (2026)

Apr 20, 2026

John S Kiernan, WalletHub Managing Editor

Apr 20, 2026WalletHub Managing Editor

Best Large Cities to Start a Business

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Americans have long had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. From the Gold Rush and the Industrial Revolution to the Internet Age, periods of innovation have shaped our economy and driven major societal progress. However, the past few years have been particularly challenging for business owners in the U.S., due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation and high inflation.

To help aspiring entrepreneurs — from restaurant owners to tech innovators — improve their chances of long-term success in today’s difficult economic environment, WalletHub compared startup opportunities across 100 U.S. cities. The analysis is based on 19 key metrics, including the five-year business survival rate, labor costs and office-space affordability.

For a breakdown of smaller markets, check out WalletHub’s Best Small Cities to Start a Business ranking.

“Starting a business can be very scary, considering one in every five startups doesn’t make it past the first year. That’s why it’s especially important to live in a city that provides an environment where new businesses can thrive, with enough capital, workers and customers to keep it going long-term.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Table of Contents

Main Findings

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Best Places to Start a Business

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Business Environment Rank	Access to Resources Rank	Business Costs Rank
1	Tampa, FL	64.15	3	7	37
2	Orlando, FL	63.74	1	48	33
3	Jacksonville, FL	62.08	4	42	23
4	Hialeah, FL	60.94	2	83	27
5	St. Petersburg, FL	59.24	10	36	29
6	Durham, NC	58.94	20	17	26
7	Raleigh, NC	58.71	18	12	36
8	Tulsa, OK	58.43	43	54	1
9	Oklahoma City, OK	58.34	34	50	9
10	Miami, FL	57.33	6	39	58
11	Dallas, TX	56.68	5	45	64
12	Atlanta, GA	56.16	27	26	45
13	Phoenix, AZ	56.08	16	67	46
14	Charlotte, NC	55.95	9	81	35
15	North Las Vegas, NV	55.93	12	44	62
16	Irving, TX	55.93	7	20	72
17	Henderson, NV	55.42	8	40	69
18	Chandler, AZ	55.27	13	22	73
19	Indianapolis, IN	55.16	54	58	10
20	Mesa, AZ	54.52	36	57	38
21	Birmingham, AL	54.52	73	34	5
22	Reno, NV	54.42	29	16	65
23	Arlington, TX	54.15	24	41	59
24	Austin, TX	54.12	11	9	80
25	Kansas City, MO	53.98	70	21	13
26	Houston, TX	53.84	19	72	51
27	Las Vegas, NV	53.69	15	80	55
28	Greensboro, NC	53.47	68	59	7
29	Scottsdale, AZ	53.12	21	13	77
30	Fort Worth, TX	53.04	47	8	67
31	Omaha, NE	52.97	72	18	20
32	Gilbert, AZ	52.69	26	11	78
33	Columbus, OH	52.48	61	14	42
34	Baton Rouge, LA	52.36	69	82	2
35	Plano, TX	52.27	14	3	90
36	Lubbock, TX	52.27	50	55	34
37	Fort Wayne, IN	52.17	56	95	4
38	Glendale, AZ	52.16	53	70	31
39	Corpus Christi, TX	51.51	46	79	43
40	Madison, WI	51.46	90	2	50
41	Denver, CO	51.35	25	53	74
42	Detroit, MI	51.33	80	75	8
43	Louisville, KY	51.17	65	65	22
44	Nashville, TN	51.11	40	32	71
45	Fresno, CA	51.03	45	69	61
46	St. Louis, MO	51.03	94	19	6
47	Chicago, IL	50.77	52	6	75
48	Cincinnati, OH	50.49	71	52	25
49	Long Beach, CA	50.40	17	31	84
50	San Bernardino, CA	50.30	32	94	53
51	Stockton, CA	50.25	28	78	68
52	Aurora, CO	49.85	60	49	56
53	Colorado Springs, CO	49.80	48	88	39
54	Wichita, KS	49.69	78	71	16
55	Los Angeles, CA	49.62	22	27	86
56	Sacramento, CA	49.60	39	35	79
57	Milwaukee, WI	49.57	87	38	18
58	New Orleans, LA	49.53	88	51	14
59	Irvine, CA	49.48	33	1	98
60	Tucson, AZ	49.33	79	86	11
61	Pittsburgh, PA	49.24	82	24	47
62	Newark, NJ	49.14	67	28	60
63	Minneapolis, MN	48.81	86	4	63
64	San Antonio, TX	48.53	37	98	52
65	Garland, TX	48.45	64	30	66
66	Albuquerque, NM	48.43	74	77	24
67	El Paso, TX	48.27	44	99	30
68	Buffalo, NY	48.00	92	61	12
69	Lincoln, NE	47.93	93	43	17
70	Winston-Salem, NC	47.90	89	90	3
71	Cleveland, OH	47.72	91	68	15
72	Boise, ID	47.69	75	66	44
73	Bakersfield, CA	47.41	42	89	70
74	Boston, MA	46.73	63	10	82
75	Jersey City, NJ	46.71	38	15	91
76	Laredo, TX	46.49	84	74	41
77	Lexington-Fayette, KY	45.89	76	84	32
78	Anaheim, CA	45.40	41	64	89
79	San Diego, CA	45.02	23	60	93
80	Philadelphia, PA	44.96	77	85	48
81	New York, NY	44.81	55	37	88
82	St. Paul, MN	44.72	100	23	49
83	Anchorage, AK	44.67	31	87	87
84	Virginia Beach, VA	44.01	66	96	54
85	Norfolk, VA	43.54	81	100	21
86	Fremont, CA	43.34	35	47	95
87	Baltimore, MD	43.15	95	73	40
88	Portland, OR	42.88	83	29	83
89	Toledo, OH	42.78	97	92	19
90	Santa Ana, CA	42.33	59	76	85
91	Chula Vista, CA	42.33	49	56	92
92	Chesapeake, VA	42.15	85	97	57
93	Seattle, WA	41.71	57	5	99
94	Oakland, CA	41.31	58	33	94
95	Memphis, TN	41.27	98	91	28
96	Riverside, CA	41.19	62	93	81
97	San Francisco, CA	41.01	30	46	100
98	Honolulu, HI	39.24	96	63	76
99	San Jose, CA	38.84	51	62	97
100	Washington, DC	34.18	99	25	96

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of each city, and a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for each category.

Avg. Growth in Number of Small Businesses

Highest

Highest
T-1. Boise, ID
T-1. Fresno, CA
T-1. Austin, TX
4. Orlando, FL
5. Reno, NV

Lowest

Lowest
T-96. New York, NY
T-96. Newark, NJ
T-96. Jersey City, NJ
99. Honolulu, HI
100. New Orleans, LA

Accessible Financing

Most

Most
T-1. Madison, WI
T-1. Lincoln, NE
T-1. Corpus Christi, TX
T-1. Laredo, TX
T-1. Chicago, IL

Least

Least
95. Charlotte, NC
96. Jacksonville, FL
97. Albuquerque, NM
T-98. Riverside, CA
T-98. San Bernardino, CA

Labor Costs

Lowest

Lowest
1. Detroit, MI
2. Cleveland, OH
3. Birmingham, AL
4. Toledo, OH
5. Baton Rouge, LA

Highest

Highest
T-95. Seattle, WA
T-95. Irvine, CA
T-95. San Francisco, CA
T-95. San Jose, CA
T-95. Fremont, CA

Availability of Human Capital

Highest

Highest
1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. North Las Vegas, NV
4. Bakersfield, CA
5. Newark, NJ

Lowest

Lowest
96. Pittsburgh, PA
97. Birmingham, AL
98. Orlando, FL
99. Atlanta, GA
100. St. Louis, MO

Avg. Work Week

Longest

Longest
T-1. Dallas, TX
T-1. Scottsdale, AZ
3. Anchorage, AK
4. Washington, DC
5. San Francisco, CA

Shortest

Shortest
T-95. Minneapolis, MN
T-95. St. Paul, MN
97. Tucson, AZ
98. Lincoln, NE
99. Madison, WI
100. Buffalo, NY

Expensive Office Spaces

Cheapest

Cheapest
1. Toledo, OH
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. Wichita, KS
4. Fort Wayne, IN
5. Stockton, CA

Most

Most
95. Oakland, CA
96. Jersey City, NJ
T-97. Washington, DC
T-97. New York, NY
T-97. San Francisco, CA

Educated Population

Most

Most
1. Irvine, CA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Washington, DC
4. Fremont, CA
5. Scottsdale, AZ

Least

Least
96. Newark, NJ
97. North Las Vegas, NV
98. Santa Ana, CA
99. Detroit, MI
100. San Bernardino, CA

In-Depth Look at the Best Large Cities to Start a Business

Tampa, FL

Tampa, FL, is the best large city for starting a small business, in part because it has a low corporate tax rate, allowing businesses to keep more of their revenue. It also has a high number of investors per capita, and the combination of low taxes and high capital gives businesses more resources to survive the difficult initial years.

The monetary benefits of Tampa are evident in the fact that the city scores very high on the Entrepreneurial Activity Index, which indicates that there is a large number of startups in the city and those startups have a high survival rate.

Orlando, FL

Orlando, FL, is the second-best large city to start a business in, due in part to the fact that the number of small businesses has grown faster than in most other cities. It’s also one of the top cities on the Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship Index, which means that in addition to Orlando having a lot of startups, those startups also have a high survival rate.

One of the reasons why startups are so prevalent and successful in Orlando is that the city has a very high number of investors per capita, so new businesses are able to get the funding that they need to survive and thrive.

Furthermore, although Orlando is known as a retirement haven, it has one of the highest growth rates for the working-age population, so businesses have plenty of potential new employees.

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville, FL, is the third-best large city to start a small business in, and it has the highest Entrepreneurial Activity Index score in the country, indicating a very active start-up environment that helps many different types of new businesses launch and grow successfully. In addition, the city has some of the lowest corporate taxes in the country, which can provide a boost to new businesses by allowing them to reinvest more of their capital.

Businesses that are currently in Jacksonville are thriving, as the city has a very high number of startup firms per capita, indicating a strong environment for launching new businesses. It also has some of the highest rates of growth in business revenues in the country, which suggests that companies in the city have strong potential to expand and succeed.

Ask the Experts

As current self-employment figures have shown, an increasing number of Americans aim to become their own boss. To assist them in that goal, WalletHub asked a panel of entrepreneurship experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What tips would you offer an aspiring entrepreneur?
Which are some of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make?
Besides technology, what other sector is ripe for disruption by entrepreneurs? What is the next big thing?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business in a big city?
What is the best source of funding for new companies?
What is the most effective way state and local authorities can stimulate entrepreneurship and new business development?

Ask the Experts

Andrew Burnstine
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, College of Business and Management - Lynn University
Read More

Anne Drougas
Ph.D. – College of Business, Information Studies, and Technology, Associate Dean & Professor of Finance & Business Analytics, Brennan School of Business – Dominican University
Read More

Dr. Bill Garlen
Ed.D, Ed.S. – Director of Business Innovation & Development, Online BBA Degree Program Adviser, School of Business & Public Management - College of Coastal Georgia
Read More

Sinan Erzurumlu
Professor of Innovation and Operations Management - Babson College
Read More

Jay Rao
Professor, Strategy & Innovation – Babson College
Read More

Thomai Serdari
Ph.D. – Professor of Marketing| Director, Luxury & Retail MBA| Art+Quants; Department of Marketing, Leonard N. Stern School of Business - New York University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the best cities for launching a business, WalletHub compared 100 cities, across three key dimensions: 1) Business Environment, 2) Access to Resources and 3) Business Costs. Our sample considers only the city proper in each case, excluding cities in the surrounding metro area.

We evaluated the three dimensions using 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for startups. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at only the state level.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Business Environment – Total Points: 50

Length of Average Work Week (in Hours): Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Average Growth in Number of Small Businesses: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Startups per Capita: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Average Growth of Business Revenues: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Five-Year Business-Survival Rate*: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Industry Variety: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Entrepreneurship Index*: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Job Growth (2024 vs. 2020): Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

Access to Resources – Total Points: 25

Financing Accessibility: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated as follows: Total Annual Value of Small-Business Loans / Total Number of Small Businesses.
Venture Investment (amount) per Capita: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Prevalence of Investors: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Human-Capital Availability: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated as follows: Number of Job Openings per Number of Civilians in Labor Force minus Unemployment Rate.
Higher-Education Assets: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “2026 College & University Rankings” ranking of America’s top 791 universities.
Share of College-Educated Population: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Note: This metric measures the percentage of the population aged 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree.
Working-Age Population Growth: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
Note: “Working-Age Population” includes individuals aged 16 to 64.

Business Costs – Total Points: 25

Office-Space Affordability: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the per-square-foot rental cost of commercial office space.
Labor Costs: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the median annual income.
Corporate Taxes*: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
Cost of Living: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of March 23, 2026 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, National Venture Capital Association, Yelp, Indeed.com, Tax Foundation, Council for Community and Economic Research, LoopNet, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and WalletHub research.

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