CNNMoney.com > Small Business > Best Places to Launch

  • Top large places
  • Top midsize places
  • Top small places
  • All metro areas
  • States
  • Cities
  • Lending hot spots
  • Cities
  • Fastest small business growth
  • Educated workers
  • Low crime
  • High income
  • Growing economy
  • Low wages
  • Best tax climate
  • Affordable rents
  • Fewest foreclosures
And the winners are...
And the winners are...
Growing economies, affordable workers, stable housing markets, low crime -- these metro areas have all the features entrepreneurs need to thrive. More
  1. Oklahoma City
  2. Pittsburgh
  3. Raleigh
  4. Houston
  5. Hartford
  1. Washington, D.C.
  2. Charlotte
  3. Austin
  4. New York City
  5. Baltimore
• See the 50 Best Places to Launch

Why I launched here
Why I launched here
We asked entrepreneurs in all 50 Best Places how their hometown treats business owners. See how the cities stack up. More

Tax havens
Tax havens
Want to keep more of your profits? Check out these 5 states where taxes are low -- and in some cases, nonexistent. More

5 deadly spots
5 deadly spots
Every restaurateur knows about Cursed Locations. Here's a look at 4 trying to break the streak -- and one that failed. More
• Bad spots, or just bad businesses?

Best places, state by state
Best places, state by state
Texas landed a whopping 8 cities on our list. Find the best launch spots in your favorite state.More
• Texas
• Iowa
• North Carolina
• See the rest

Where the loans are
Where the loans are
We sought out the banks that have made small business loans this year. Find lenders in your area. More

iReport
Is your city great for entrepreneurs?
Is your city great for entrepreneurs?
Tell us why: Low taxes? Talented workers? An active small business community? Send us your photos and videos. More
Quick Vote
What do you consider most important for a business-friendly environment?
  • Low taxes
  • A growing local economy
  • Affordable homes
  • Low crime
  • High-quality labor pool
Find your launch spot
Do you prefer a place that is: Small Medium Large
The factors that matter most to me are:
 Affordable wages  Few foreclosures
 Educated workers  Low housing costs
 Low crime  High local incomes
 A growing economy  Population growth
 Growing small business population

Video
How we picked the Best Places
This year we partnered with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to find the 50 most business-friendly communities in America.

With help from Robert Fairlie, an economist and leading scholar of entrepreneurship at the University of California, Santa Cruz, we developed a methodology and sifted through such data on factors such as per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, crime rates, taxes and foreclosures. More

Comments? E-mail the editors
Data partners

This package was produced in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Foreclosure data provided by RealtyTrac.

Housing price-to-income data provided by Moody's Economy.com.

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