A new survey examines which American cities are best for small business. And despite what many say about California, some of our municipalities top the list.
The Riverside-San Bernardino metro area emerged as the best small-business city in America in an annual ranking conducted by Biz2Credit, a leading online lending platform for small business based in New York City.
Last year’s list was topped by San Jose, but the Silicon Valley city fell to 18 on this year’s list, thanks to the high cost of doing business in the booming Bay Area.
The Inland Empire, meanwhile, is becoming a haven for entrepreneurs. Not only is the region home to a growing number of start-up companies, it also topped the annual survey, which based metropolitan areas on a number of factors, including average credit score, average annual revenue, number of employees and the BizAnalyzer score, which takes into account local economic factors, such as the cost of doing business and tax rate.
"The Riverside-San Bernardino area is a hub for IT, advanced manufacturing, food processing, health & medical, professional services," said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, one of the nation's leading experts in small business finance, who oversaw the research. "Riverside's active Office of Economic Development provides valuable resources to first-time business owners and existing companies looking to expand. Its support networks including incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces, as well as a 'Shop Riverside' campaign to promote local businesses, highlight the area's wide range of retail shops and restaurants, and increase sales tax revenues for the city's services."
The annual Best Small Business Cities in America Study ranking of 25 cities is based on a weighted average of data on Biz2Credit's customers across the country. It looks at the health of small businesses in each metro area, the rate of small-business creation and the economic ecosystem for entrepreneurs, including the cost of doing business, tax climate and local talent pool.
Biz2Credit analyzed 12,000 businesses with fewer than 250 employees from across the country. These firms were in operation for more than a year and had less than $10 million in annual revenues.