Latino entrepreneurship is exploding across the U.S. Hispanic entrepreneurs made up 17% of the U.S. population in 2022. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to 29%, with Latino-owned businesses potentially contributing $1.4 trillion to the economy.
States and localities that court these new businesses will reap rewards. Thanks to new rankings from WalletHub, we have an idea where some of the friendliest places for Latino-owned startups are located.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month — which runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 — WalletHub has released a report on the Best Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs in 2024. The personal finance website compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 23 metrics, including share of Hispanic-owned businesses; the Hispanic entrepreneurship rate; average revenue growth for Hispanic-owned businesses; small business-friendliness; affordability; income growth for Hispanics; housing affordability; Hispanic unemployment; and more.
The 180 cities WalletHub compared included the 150 most populated cities in America, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state.
Eight out of the top 10 cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs are in Florida. Five out of the top 25 are in Texas.
Santa Clarita (#16) was the only California city to make the top 25. Riverside came in at #31, Ontario at #34 and Fontana at #39. Clearly, the Golden State has work to do.
Here are the 20 best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs, according to WalletHub:
Pembroke Pines, FL
Orlando, FL
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Port St. Lucie, FL
Miami, FL
Cape Coral, FL
Hialeah, FL
Missoula, MT
St. Petersburg, FL
Laredo, TX
Tampa, FL
Amarillo, TX
Albuquerque, NM
Corpus Christi, TX
Nampa, ID
Santa Clarita, CA
Tallahassee, FL
Jackson MS
Jacksonville, FL
Las Cruces, NM
View the full list and methodology here.
List and data were compiled by WalletHub and do not reflect statistics on all cities.