Almanac

A statistical guide to the metro areas and states that are home to the most start-ups per capita, the top 20 types of new ventures, and the most popular home-based businesses launched last year.

By Inc. staff | 
 

Where the start-ups are

Top Five Metro Areas by Gross Number of Start-ups
Metro area Total number of start-ups in 1997
1. LOS ANGELES-LONG BEACH 68,285
2. NEW YORK CITY 53,751
3. HOUSTON 50,175
4. DALLAS 36,305
5. DETROIT 35,226
Source: County Data Corp./The Lead Sheet.
Top Five States by Start-up Rate
State Start-ups per 100 inhabitants in 1997
1. ALASKA 1.77
2. NEVADA 1.75
3. COLORADO 1.35
4. UTAH 1.12
5. IDAHO 1.00
Source: County Data Corp./The Lead Sheet.
10 Top Metro Areas by Start-up Rate
Metro area Start-ups per 100
inhabitants in 1997
1. LAS VEGAS 2.38
2. BOISE, ID 2.08
3. ANCHORAGE, AK 1.99
4. ANN ARBOR, MI 1.69
5. AUSTIN-SAN MARCOS, TX 1.65
6. BOULDER-LONGMONT, CO 1.58
7. HOUSTON 1.52
8. DENVER 1.45
9. DALLAS 1.42
10. FORT COLLINS-LOVELAND, CO 1.41
Source: County Data Corp./The Lead Sheet.

Most of this list is explicable. There are the boomtowns (Las Vegas, where one out every 42 residents started a company last year, and a trio of cities on the eastern slope of the Colorado Rockies), the isolated but energetic New West (Boise, Anchorage), and Texas (Austin, Houston, Dallas). Which leaves, well, Ann Arbor. Go Wolverines?

100 Top Metro Areas by Start-up Rate

Metro area Start- ups per 100 inhabitants Total start- ups Population Nationwide rank by population
1. LAS VEGAS 2.38 17,662 741,459 66
2. BOISE, ID 2.08 4,282 205,775 178
3. ANCHORAGE, AK 1.99 4,502 226,338 169
4. ANN ARBOR, MI 1.69 4,795 282,937 143
5. AUSTIN- SAN MARCOS, TX 1.65 12,895 781,572 65
6. BOULDER- LONGMONT, CO 1.58 3,559 225,339 170
7. HOUSTON 1.52 50,175 3,301,937 8
8. DENVER 1.45 23,597 1,622,980 26
9. DALLAS 1.42 36,305 2,553,362 12
10. FORT COLLINS- LOVELAND, CO 1.41 2,625 186,136 190
11. COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 1.36 5,414 397,014 110
12. ALBUQUERQUE 1.27 6,122 480,577 97
13. KALAMAZOO, MI 1.25 2,783 223,411 172
14. FORT WORTH- ARLINGTON, TX 1.23 16,360 1,332,053 35
15. PROVO- OREM, UT 1.21 3,200 263,590 152
16. PORTLAND, OR 1.21 14,966 1,239,842 40
17. SALT LAKE CITY- - OGDEN, UT 1.14 12,239 1,072,227 45
18. ORLANDO 1.13 12,070 1,072,748 44
19. SAN FRANCISCO 1.03 16,551 1,603,678 27
20. SALEM, OR 1.00 2,779 278,024 147
21. SANTA ROSA- PETALUMA, CA 0.99 3,824 388,222 115
22. SAN ANTONIO 0.98 12,811 1,302,099 36
23. ANAHEIM- SANTA ANA, CA 0.98 23,661 2,410,556 16
24. SEATTLE- BELLEVUE- EVERETT 0.96 18,947 1,972,961 22
25. EUGENE- SPRINGFIELD, OR 0.95 2,693 282,912 144
Metro area Start- ups per 100 inhabitants Total start- ups Population Nationwide rank by population
26. LUBBOCK, TX 0.95 2,111 222,636 173
27. SAN DIEGO 0.95 23,633 2,498,016 13
28. GRAND RAPIDS- - MUSKEGON- HOLLAND, MI 0.92 6,356 688,399 71
29. CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 0.91 3,180 349,894 126
30. WACO, TX 0.89 1,689 189,123 187
31. TUCSON 0.89 5,906 666,880 75
32. SANTA CRUZ, CA 0.87 1,995 229,734 168
33. FLINT, MI 0.86 3,691 430,459 104
34. FORT MYERS- CAPE CORAL, FL 0.85 2,842 335,113 132
35. OAKLAND, CA 0.84 17,464 2,082,914 19
36. RENO, NV 0.83 2,125 254,667 156
37. FRESNO, CA 0.83 5,523 667,490 74
38. RALEIGH- DURHAM- CHAPEL HILL, NC 0.82 6,037 735,480 67
39. DETROIT 0.80 35,226 4,382,299 5
40. SAN JOSE, CA 0.80 12,004 1,497,577 29
41. OXNARD- VENTURA, CA 0.79 5,270 669,016 73
42. JACKSONVILLE, FL 0.79 7,118 906,727 58
43. LANSING- - EAST LANSING, MI 0.78 3,356 432,674 103
44. LOS ANGELES- LONG BEACH 0.77 68,285 8,863,164 1
45. DAYTONA BEACH, FL 0.77 2,837 370,712 116
46. WEST PALM BEACH- - BOCA RATON, FL 0.76 6,595 863,518 61
47. NASSAU- SUFFOLK, NY 0.76 19,879 2,609,212 10
48. KILLEEN- TEMPLE, TX 0.76 1,945 255,301 154
49. CHARLOTTE, NC- GASTONIA, NC- ROCK HILL,SC 0.76 8,788 1,162,093 42
50. BREMERTON, WA 0.74 1,404 189,731 185
Metro area Start- ups per 100 inhabitants Total start- ups Population Nationwide rank by population
51. BERGEN- PASSAIC, NJ 0.73 9,390 1,278,440 37
52. ATLANTA 0.72 20,393 2,833,511 9
53. OCALA, FL 0.71 1,383 194,833 181
54. GALVESTON- TEXAS CITY, TX 0.71 1,540 217,399 175
55. NASHVILLE 0.71 6,956 985,026 49
56. BAKERSFIELD, CA 0.70 3,831 543,477 89
57. OKLAHOMA CITY 0.70 6,741 958,839 52
58. RIVERSIDE- - SAN BERNARDINO, CA 0.70 18,171 2,588,793 11
59. NEWARK, NJ 0.69 12,679 1,824,321 25
60. SALINAS, CA 0.69 2,460 355,660 123
61. TACOMA, WA 0.69 4,023 586,203 86
62. PHOENIX- MESA 0.69 14,552 2,122,101 18
63. CHICO, CA 0.68 1,246 182,120 192
64. KNOXVILLE, TN 0.68 4,123 604,816 81
65. SACRAMENTO 0.68 10,060 1,481,102 30
66. JERSEY CITY 0.66 3,654 553,099 88
67. LAKELAND- WINTER HAVEN, FL 0.66 2,670 405,382 107
68. TULSA 0.66 4,654 708,954 70
69. SPOKANE, WA 0.65 2,365 361,364 121
70. SAGINAW- BAY CITY- MIDLAND, MI 0.65 2,612 399,320 108
71. TALLAHASSEE, FL 0.65 1,521 233,598 167
72. FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 0.64 8,080 1,255,488 38
73. VALLEJO- FAIRFIELD- NAPA, CA 0.64 2,872 451,186 100
74. MONMOUTH- OCEAN, NJ 0.63 6,236 986,327 48
Metro area Start- ups per 100 inhabitants Total start- ups Population Nationwide rank by population
75. SANTA BARBARA- SANTA MARIA- LOMPOC, CA 0.63 2,326 369,608 118
76. NEW YORK CITY 0.63 53,751 8,546,846 2
77. RICHMOND- PETERSBURG, VA 0.62 5,410 865,640 60
78. MIDDLESEX- SOMERSET- HUNTERDON, NJ 0.62 6,306 1,019,835 46
79. WASHINGTON, DC 0.61 23,793 3,923,574 6
80. BATON ROUGE, LA 0.60 3,173 528,264 90
81. AMARILLO, TX 0.60 1,126 187,547 189
82. BRAZORIA, TX 0.60 1,144 191,707 183
83. BALTIMORE 0.59 14,109 2,382,172 17
84. ROCHESTER, NY 0.57 5,758 1,002,410 47
85. ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 0.57 1,829 319,416 135
86. NORFOLK- VIRGINIA BEACH- NEWPORT NEWS, VA 0.57 7,990 1,396,107 33
87. MODESTO, CA 0.57 2,120 370,522 117
88. SARASOTA, FL 0.57 1,586 277,776 148
89. MINNEAPOLIS- ST. PAUL 0.57 14,019 2,464,124 14
90. VISALIA- TULARE- PORTERVILLE, CA 0.56 1,757 311,921 139
91. TAMPA- ST. PETERSBURG- CLEARWATER, FL 0.54 11,197 2,067,959 20
92. MELBOURNE- TITUSVILLE- PALM BAY, FL 0.54 2,136 398,978 109
93. MEMPHIS 0.53 5,195 981,747 50
94. CANTON, OH 0.52 2,051 394,106 113
95. CHATTANOOGA 0.52 2,235 433,210 102
96. ALBANY- SCHENECTADY- TROY, NY 0.51 4,500 874,304 59
97. STOCKTON- LODI, CA 0.51 2,471 480,628 96
98. FORT PIERCE, FL 0.51 1,290 251,071 157
99. COLUMBUS, OH 0.51 7,028 1,377,419 34
100. SYRACUSE, NY 0.51 3,362 659,864 76
...And Some Big Metro Areas That Didn't Make the Top 100
Metro area Start-ups per 100 inhabitants Total start-ups Population Nationwide rank by population
101. MIAMI 0.51 9,863 1,937,094 23
110. CLEVELAND 0.46 8,444 1,831,122 24
116. CHICAGO
0.45 27,381 6,069,974 3
29. PHILADELPHIA 0.36 17,630 4,856,881 4
132. BOSTON 0.32 12,189 3,783,817 7
141. ST. LOUIS
0.29 7,037 2,444,099 15
148. PITTSBURGH
0.27 5,487 2,056,705 21

The Top 100 list is a ranking by per capita start-up rate (the number of start-ups in 1997 divided by population). The 200 largest metro areas with sufficient start-up data were considered for inclusion in the ranking; the metro-area boundaries were defined by County Data Corp./The Lead Sheet, in Winooski, Vt. The 11 metro areas for which data were insufficient are Mobile, Ala.; Orange County, N.Y.; Joliet, Ill.; McAllen, Tex.; Aurora, Ill.; Lorain-Elyria, Ohio; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Vancouver, Wash.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Bradenton, Fla.; and Beaver County, Pa. The nationwide rank by population column on the table shows how the remaining metro areas rank by their market size (their population).

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