The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) compiles an extensive amount of information on the companies that make the Inner City 100 list each year. Here, Inc.com shares highlights from those statistics and facts.
Visit www.innercity100.org to apply for the 2006 Inner City 100.
2005 Inner City 100 Almanac (Browse by topic.)
- General Information
- 2003 Sales
- Firm Valuation
- Geography
- Sector and Industry
- Competitive Advantage/Disadvantage of Being in the Inner City
- Differentiation
- Top Three Factors Contributing Most to Growth
- Top Three Factors Currently Limiting Growth
- Top 3 Customers
- Location/Real Estate
- Workforce
- Benefits & Wages
- Finance & Banking
- The Economy/Business Confidence
- CEO Profile
General
- Average Compound Annual Growth Rate: 63% (median = 53%)
- Average five-year standard growth rate: 827% (median = 451%)
- 1993 was the average year the companies were founded (median = 1995)
- 9,587 new jobs created between 1999 and 2003
- 14,138 people are employed by the 2005 Inner City 100 companies
- 118 was the average number of full-time employees in 2003 (median = 52)
- 25 was the average number of part-time employees in 2003 (median = 2)
2003 Sales
Average: $21.8 million
Median: $9.5 million
Collective: $2.2 billion
According to ICIC's State of the Inner City Economies (SOICE) project, inner cities are home to 814,000 business establishments, equal to 8% of US private employment, and home to 21 million people, equal to the population of Texas. About 5% of all inner city-based firms have sales of $2.5 million or greater, similar to the percentage in the US as a whole.
Firm Valuation
$23.4 million was the average estimated value of the companies
Geography
- Nominations for the Inner City 100 came from over 150 cities across the United States.
- 57 cities have companies on the 2005 list.
Most Represented Cities:
- Chicago (5)
Denver (5)
Detroit (5)
- Baltimore (4)
New York City (4)
Most Represented States:
- California (8)
New York (8)
- Illinois (6)
Pennsylvania (6)
Texas (6)
Sector & Industry
Industries
| Acomm. & Food |
4% |
| Business Services |
28% |
| Construction |
13% |
| Consumer Goods |
16% |
| Educational Services |
3% |
| Finance |
3% |
| Healthcare |
6% |
| High Tech |
12% |
| Mgmt. of Companies |
1% |
| Prof., Scientific, & Tech Services |
7% |
| Real Estate |
4% |
| Transportation |
2% |
Competitive Advantage/Disadvantage of Being in the Inner City
Advantages
- 41% of respondents said that workforce diversity was a main advantage of their inner city location, while 40% said proximity to transportation nodes was a main advantage, 33% said proximity to downtown/customers, and 29% cited an available local workforce
Disadvantages
- 30% of respondents said that regulations and tax issues were a main competitive disadvantage of their inner city location, while 27% cited the perception of crime as a main disadvantage (as opposed to 11% who reported actual crime), 26% cited the availability of land and/or real estate, and 24% the cost of land and/or real estate.
Differentiation
- 68% said the quality of their product or service
- 48% said their customer service
- 28% said the breadth of their product or service offering
- 24% said a quick response
Top Three Factors Contributing Most to Growth
- Exceptional products or services (23%)
- High-quality employees (15%)
- Sound business strategy (12%)
Top Three Factors Currently Limiting Growth
- Recruiting qualified employees (29%)
- Access to capital (21%)
- Building a corporate infrastructure (12%)
- Developing a marketing/sales strategy (12%)
Top 3 Customers
- Fortune 1000 companies (27%)
- Government (25%)
- Small/Mid-Sized Companies (24%)
Location/Real Estate
Primary Reasons for Locating at Current Location
| 1. Commitment to the city/community |
45% |
| 2. Access to downtown/customers |
41% |
| 3. Access to workforce |
31% |
Buy vs. Lease
- 72% of respondents report leasing their current location, with 52% under a long-term lease and 20% under a short-term lease
- 13% of respondents report that their current location is owned by the company's CEO
- 12% of respondents report that the company owns its current location
Workforce
Breakdown of IC 100 Workforce
Gender
57% Male
42% Female
Ethnicity
| 58% |
White |
| 42% |
Minority |
| 19% |
Latino |
| 16% |
Black |
| 4% |
Asian |
| 1% |
Native American |
| 1% |
Other |
| 1% |
Arab or Middle Eastern |
| 1% |
Mixed Ethnicities |
| 1% |
Other Ethnicity |
According to ICIC's State of the Inner City Economies (SOICE) Project, inner city populations are 80% minority compared to 31% of the population in surrounding metropolitan statistical areas.
