It's known as a mellow, artsy destination at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, boasting sweeping views, a thriving tech scene, and a vibrant artisan food culture, but Boulder, Colorado is also a great place to launch a business.
In fact, it's the best U.S. metropolitan area for starting a business in 2015, providing would-be founders access to co-working spaces and incubators as well as capital investors, according to data released this week by personal finance site NerdWallet.
To determine the friendliest geographies for launching a business right now, NerdWallet looked at 183 metropolitan areas, each with 15,000 businesses or more and populations of at least 250,000. Each area was evaluated according to average revenue of local businesses, what percentage can claim paid employees, and the number of businesses per 100 residents.
Additionally, a metro's median annual income, housing costs, and unemployment rate were factored in as indicative of the local economic landscape.
The report highlights that upwards of 82%--23 million of 28 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau--of the country's small businesses do not have employees, but are run by one or two people and powered by freelancers and contract workers.
Wilmington, North Carolina, comes in second, with 15 businesses for every 100 residents--the most of the cities at the top of this list. The Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford, Connecticut area is next with a well-educated population and the highest median income, $63,369, of cities in the top 10.
Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky, comes in fourth, while Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a low cost of living and 3.8% unemployment--well below the national rate of 5.5%--rounds out the top five.
NerdWallet notes that in the case of starting a small business, good things do come in small packages--or cities, in this case. Each of the metro areas in the top 10 have populations of less than 1 million people. The winning combination of strong opportunities and low cost of living is more likely to be found in Midwest locales like Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, than on the coasts.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, in seventh place, boasts one of the most impressive statistics: Businesses in this area rake in 155% more revenue than those in any other location on the list.
In pictures: The 10 Best Places For Starting A Business In 2015
To view NerdWallet's full list of the Best Places To Start A Business, click here.
