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Cities that Have Soared or Sunk as a Place to Start a Business
A look at the big and small cities that have shown the greatest rise or fall on Inc.'s list of the best cities in which to start a business, from 1993 to 2000.
Big cities that blasted up the list
Since 1993 these large metro areas have shown the most improvement in their business climate.
| City | 1993-1994 rank | 1999-2000 rank | Change |
| Phoenix, AZ | 26 | 1 | +25 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 29 | 6 | +23 |
| Memphis, TN-AR-MS | 25 | 7 | +18 |
| Detroit, MI | 46 | 32 | +14 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 33 | 21 | +12 |
| Baltimore, MD | 39 | 29 | +10 |
| Boston, MA | 44 | 35 | +9 |
| San Antonio, TX | 27 | 20 | +7 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | 34 | 27 | +7 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 36 | 30 | +6 |
Source: Cognetics Inc.
Phoenix
Rank in 1999-2000: 1
Change in rank since 1993-1994: +25
Big reason for rise: Rapid population growth
Phoenix is the country's second-fastest-growing large metro area, with a 34% increase in population from 1990 to 1999. Phoenix also enjoys an overall operating cost advantage of 7% to 13% over cities of comparable size, according to Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. And the region's high-tech roots are paying off. Large manufacturers have formed partnerships with local universities to create a more educated workforce, and refugees from companies like Intel have provided a ready source of employees for many start-ups, according to Tim Riester, president of Phoenix-based ad agency Riester-Robb. Plus, "you wake up every day, and it's beautiful," says Riester. --Mary Kwak
Big cities that plunged down the list
Since 1993 these large metro areas have shown the biggest decline in their business climate.
| City | 1993-1994 rank | 1999-2000 rank | Change |
| Greensboro-Winston-Salem, NC | 12 | 40 | -28 |
| Seattle, WA | 15 | 37 | -22 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 17 | 34 | -17 |
| Portland, OR-Vancouver, WA | 13 | 28 | -15 |
| Milwaukee-Racine-Sheboygan, WI | 7 | 22 | -15 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL | 11 | 24 | -13 |
| Nashville, TN | 5 | 16 | -11 |
| Cleveland-Akron, OH | 30 | 39 | -9 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 37 | 44 | -7 |
| Rochester, NY | 43 | 49 | -6 |
Source: Cognetics Inc.
Greensboro-Winston-Salem
Rank in 1999-2000: 40
Change in rank since 1993-1994: -28
Big reason for drop: Being overshadowed by boomtowns Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, N.C.
What North Carolina's triad area -- Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point -- seems to be missing is critical mass. Yes, the Triad has universities, venture capitalists, incubators, entrepreneurial networking groups, and other small-business support organizations. It just doesn't have as much as the neighboring Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill nexus has. "There is a sense of a brain drain from the 25- to 39-year-old demographic: people graduate from school, spend a couple of years here, decide it's a lousy place to find a mate, and move to Charlotte and Raleigh," says Michael Dougherty, president of Kindermusik International, which teaches music and movement to children. --Emily Barker
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