The Best Cities to Start Your Business

For various reasons ranging from all time low real estate prices to high volumes of capital opportunity, here is a list of the top ten cities to start a business today. Check it out:

Las Vegas, Nevada: With real estate, cost of living, and employee wages as low as they’ve ever been, immense opportunities have become available that weren’t possible before.

Portland, Oregon: Oregon Entrepreneurs Network is a premiere engine where entrepreneurs can go for guidance, training, networking, and venture capitalist. Additionally, Oregon has a high retention rate of workers due to their rank on most livable cities lists.

Orlando, Florida: This is one of the most highly coordinated entrepreneurial engines in the United States, and over the next 5 years Orlando is scheduled to invest one billion dollars into its downtown. This project will need lots of new businesses to feed it.

San Diego, California: Two decades ago the military started downsizing its bases in the San Diego area so the city invested heavily to avoid an economic downturn, which allowed for a strong entrepreneurial climate to emerge. Today, San Diego is full of startups creating everything from solar panels to gene therapies.

Phoenix, Arizona: In the past 20 years, Phoenix’s metropolitan area has grown over 50 percent. Their large amount of grant and loan programs makes Phoenix a great place for small-business owners to get started.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Chapel Hill’s entrepreneurial forte is building companies that are globally faceted, with businesses taking advantage of the region’s increasing connections to India, China, and the Persian Gulf. Also, the state dreamed up the Research Triangle Park, which has become the most famous brains-to-boardrooms facilitator in the world.

Atlanta, Georgia: A full portfolio of city-backed loans, grants and tax credits combined with a low cost of living makes Atlanta prime real estate for entrepreneurs with franchise dreams. The city is also pushing to develop Innovation Crescent, an urban arc from Atlanta to Athens that’s dedicated to life-science companies.

Madison, Wisconsin: Madison has the second most educated work force in the country and one of the best quality of life ratings. Enough said.

Youngstown, Ohio: An innovative company called Youngstown Business Incubator is taking Youngstown’s future in its own hands. They offer business to business software companies mentors, networking, in addition to services like office space and bandwidth for a deferred cost or even for free.

Austin, Texas: Lots of creatives are all gathering at events like the High Tech Happy Hour, Rise Austin, and South by Southwest where attendees share their ideas, experience and connections. This, backed by strong resources like the Tech Ranch and Capital Factory, and the fact that people in Austin treat each other well, make this a great place to plant your business.
Some data from Entrepreneur Magazine.