http://www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities

 

Choosing the Hot Spots

 

National Policy Research Council (NPRC) uses its Entrepreneurial Activity Index to measure the best places to start and grow a company. The index is made up of two parts, each dedicated to measuring a key aspect of entrepreneurship: business formation and business growth.

 

To measure business formation, researchers identify the percentage of businesses that were started four to 14 years ago and that employ five or more workers today. (Researchers ignore newer firms because it takes several years for new businesses to appear in national databases.)

 

To determine growth, researchers measure the percentage of those young businesses that have experienced rapid growth over the last four years. That rank appears in the Rapid Growth column.

 

By combining the Young Company rank and the Rapid Growth rank, researchers calculate an overall Entrepreneurial Rank--the best places to start and grow a business. An area must have a large number of young businesses and be able to support their growth to achieve a high overall score. The full listing includes 276 small, midsize and large consolidated metropolitan statistical areas, 50 states and 784 counties.

 

 

National Policy Research Council

 

NPRC is a Washington, DC-based organization offering nonpartisan research, analysis and information to state and local policymakers. The Council was founded on the principle that state and local governments, and those who run them, face unique challenges and constraints that require equally unique solutions. NPRC's mission is to develop, enhance, and sustain state and local policymakers' capacity to carry out their public service functions more efficiently and effectively. To learn more about NPRC, visit www.nprcouncil.com.

 

Research compiled by Spencer Tracy, William Parsons and Justine Walden.

 

LARGE CITIES

Overall Rank / City/Metro Area/State / Young Company Rank / Rapid Growth Rank

1 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ  1 2

2 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC  3 1

3 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC  5 3

4 Las Vegas, NV-AZ  2 8

5 Austin-San Marcos, TX  6 5

13 Columbus, OH  12 14 

15 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN  18 11

23 Cleveland-Akron, OH  21 22

46 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY  45 44

47 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL  44 45

48 Pittsburgh, PA  49 48

49 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL  48 49

50 Hartford, CT  50 50

 

MEDIUM CITIES

Overall Rank / City/Metro Area/State / Young Company Rank / Rapid Growth Rank

1 Mobile, AL  1 4

2 Charleston-North Charleston, SC  3 3

3 Birmingham, AL  2 5

4 El Paso, TX  4 2

5 Tucson, AZ  9 1

17 Toledo, OH  14 19

21 Dayton-Springfield, OH  27 14

29 Youngstown-Warren, OH  32 28

59 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL  55 60

60 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA  60 59

61 Daytona Beach, FL  57 61

62 Springfield, MA  59 62

63 Ocala, FL  62 63

 

SMALL CITIES

Overall Rank / City/Metro Area/State / Young Company Rank / Rapid Growth Rank

1 Auburn-Opelika, AL  2 1

2 Green Bay, WI  1 8

3 Yuma, AZ  4 4

4 Laredo, TX  3 19

5 Huntsville, AL  5 11 

73 Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH  54 109 

82 Lima, OH  95 73 

84 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH  71 108 

96 Mansfield, OH  108 77 

106 Wheeling, WV-OH  77 139 

124 Canton-Massillon, OH  111 132

142 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV  124 147

158 Utica-Rome, NY  160 158

159 Corvallis, OR  161 159

160 Jamestown, NY  155 160

161 Danville, VA  153 162

162 Yuba City, CA  158 161

 

STATES

Overall Rank / City/Metro Area/State / Young Company Rank / Rapid Growth Rank

1 Arizona 1 1

2 Virginia 5 2

3 Alabama 2 5

4 New Jersey 3 4

5 South Carolina 4 6 

16 Ohio 15 14 

46 North Dakota 48 44

47 Pennsylvania 47 45

48 Connecticut 46 48

49 Vermont 49 49

50 Iowa 50 50

 

COUNTIES

Overall Rank / City/Metro Area/State / Young Company Rank / Rapid Growth Rank

1 Mecklenburg, NC  2 2

2 Fairfax, VA  3 1

3 New York, NY  1 4

4 Wake, NC  5 3

5 Du Page, IL  4 7 

10 Franklin, OH  10 11

22 Cuyahoga, OH  20 26 

55 Suffolk, NY  54 54

56 Kings, NY  51 58

57 New Haven, CT  55 55

58 Nassau, NY  58 57

59 Philadelphia, PA  59 59

 

Alabama... didn't know that.

^automotive industry

We did surprisingly well considering all the doom and gloom that is constantly projected about the state of Ohio's economy.  Of course, this doesn't measure overall job creation/loss.  I would think that small business formation and growth should be a good "leading indicator" of the direction a regional economy is going.

I think their approach makes sense.  New companies and if they are growing. 

 

Toledo and Columbus did well in these rankings.

 

 

I think all of our large and mid-sized cities fared well.  Top half isn't bad when you consider the rep that Cleveland, Dayton, or Youngstown have.

 

Also, its interesting how many high-growth FL cities did poorly.  I wonder what this means.