According to a survey published on WalletHub.com, Orlando ranked first among 100 major cities for starting a new business.
Methodology
To determine the best cities for starting a business, WalletHub compared 100 cities across three key categories:
- Business Environment;
- Access to Resources; and
- Business Costs.
According to the researchers, “the sample considers only the city itself in each case, excluding cities in the surrounding metropolitan area.” The three dimensions were evaluated using 19 relevant metrics, which are listed on the website along with their corresponding weights. Each metric was rated on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for startups. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available only at the state level.
Next, the weighted average for each city across all metrics was calculated to determine its overall score, and the resulting scores were then used to rank the sample.
Business Environment – Total Points: 50
- Average weekly work hours: Total weight (~6.25 points)
- Average Growth in the Number of Small Businesses: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
- Startups per Capita: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
- Average Revenue Growth: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
- Five-Year Business Survival Rate*: Total Weight (~6.25 Points)
- Industry Variety: Overall Score (~6.25 Points)
- Entrepreneurship Index *: Total Weight (~6.25 Points)
- Employment Growth (2017 vs. 2013): Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
Access to Resources – Total Points: 25
- Access to Financing: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
- Venture capital investment (amount) per capita: Total weight (~3.57 points)
- Investor prevalence: total weight (~3.57 points)
- Human Capital Availability: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
- Higher Education Assets: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
- Participation of the Educated Population in College: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
- Growth of the working-age population: total weight (~3.57 points)
Business Costs – Total Points: 25
- Office Space Accessibility: Total Score (~5.00 points)
- Labor costs: double weighting (~10.00 points)
- Corporate Taxes *: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Cost of living: total weight (~5.00 points)