The best small cities to start a business

Wondering where the best small cities to start a business might be, keep reading.

If you are tired of working for someone else and punching a time clock, maybe it is time to start your own business.

If you have dreamed of opening a place you can call your own and run the way you see fit, hire the people you want and take on all the additional headaches that do come with owning your own business, you might be asking where it would be best to set up shop so to speak.

Whether you are thinking of starting your own small business this year or in the near future, it would be wise to do your homework before handing your current boss a letter of resignation.

It could be the perfect time now, so here are some recent findings that could offer you better insight into which small cities are best for beginning a business.

And with corporate tax reform recently signed into law, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on 2018’s Best Small Cities to Start a Business.

Maybe you want to relate to Texas or you’d prefer starting or buying a business in Utah? Been dreaming of setting down roots with the family in North Carolina? How about Oklahoma or Michigan?

In an effort to determine the most business-friendly small markets in the U.S., WalletHub compared more than 1,200 small-sized cities across 18 key metrics. The data set ranges from average growth in number of small businesses to investor access to labor costs.

Below are the top 20 small cities according to Wallethub where you might want to think about opening a business:

Best vs. Worst

• Bend and Redmond, Ore., have the highest number of start-ups per 100,000 residents, 273.40, which is 9.3 times higher than in Salisbury, Md., the city with the lowest at 29.48.
• Wellesley, Mass., has the highest share of the population with at least a Bachelor’s Degree, 83.8 percent, which is 25.4 times higher than in Coachella, Calif., the city with the lowest at 3.3 percent.
• Kentwood, Mich., has the most affordable office spaces, at an annual rate of $9.06 per square foot, which is 6.8 times lower than in Mountain View, Calif., the city with the least affordable at an annual rate of $61.85 per square foot.
• Carbondale, Ill., has the lowest labor costs (median annual income), $19,515, which is 9.7 times lower than in McLean, Va., the city with the highest at $190,258.
• Fort Hood, Texas, has the longest work week, 49.3 hours on average, which is 1.7 times longer than in East Lansing, Mich., the city with the shortest at an average of 28.4 hours.

Of course, the final decision is yours as to where and when you might want to open your business. But with these statistics in hand, it could help you flesh out the best place for you and your family to begin the next chapter.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-small-cities-to-start-a-business/20180/