Those pesky baby boomers just won't go away, so LendingTree®, the online loan marketplace, whipped up a study on the best places for boomer entrepreneurs, those born between 1946 and 1964 who reported being self-employed and actively engaged in the workforce in 2016.
To determine the best places for boomer entrepreneurs, LendingTree analysts created a final score based on three elements: median and average earnings of boomer-owned businesses (using census data) and the share of businesses founded by baby boomers.
Key findings
- San Jose – the seat of the Silicon Valley – is by far the best place for boomer entrepreneurs, with a final score of 93.6. In addition to representing high business income, San Jose boasts the largest share of boomer business founders.
- San Francisco comes in second with a score of 86.5, thanks to remarkable earnings potential, relative to the other metros on the list, indicating that boomers are sharing in the general prosperity of self-employed entrepreneurs there.
- Boston earned the third place on the list, with a score of 74.1.
- New Orleans, Miami and Orlando ranked last on the list, with scores of 16.4, 20.5 and 21.1, respectively.
Here's a closer look at the best U.S. cities for boomer entrepreneurs out of 50 metros reviewed:
1. San Jose, Calif.
San Jose tops the list largely due to the high business incomes boomer entrepreneurs earn there. The average business income is $47,401 among baby boomers in this city, the highest amount among all cities examined. The boomer entrepreneurs' annual median business income is $13,602, ranking fifth in that category.
Boomer entrepreneurs are also more common in San Jose. More than 24% of San Jose's new businesses founded in the last five years were run by baby boomers, the highest%age among all cities.
2. San Francisco
San Francisco stands out with the highest annual median income for business owners who are baby boomers, at $16,827. This means that earnings of most boomer entrepreneurs in the Bay Area are on the higher end. The city comes at No. 2 in terms of the average business income, at $45,505 a year.
San Francisco also has a large share of entrepreneurial boomers. One in every five new business founders are people born between 1946 and 1964.
3. Boston
Though on the opposite side of Silicon Valley, Boston is a similarly ideal place for boomer entrepreneurs. Boomer Bostonians have a medium business earning of $14,106, one of the highest figures for boomer entrepreneurs across the country.
The New England metro also has the second-highest rate of new businesses founded by baby boomers — 20.3% — tied with Memphis, Tenn.
4. Sacramento, Calif.
The capital of California placed second for median earnings among self-employed baby boomers — $15,114. The average business income boomers earn is also on the higher end, at $37,314. The share of new businesses owned by boomers in the city 19.3%.
5. Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville ranks No. 5 in terms of the%age of new businesses opened by boomers, at 19.1%. Nashville shares second place with Sacramento for the median business earnings for baby boomers.
To view the full report, visit: https://www.lendingtree.com/business/small/best-places-for-boomer-entrepreneurs/
Best Places for Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs | |||||
Rank | Metro | Final Score | Median Business Income | Average Business Income | % of New Businesses Founded by Boomers |
1 | San Jose, Calif. | 93.6 | $13,602 | $47,401 | 24.1% |
2 | San Francisco | 86.5 | $16,827 | $45,505 | 20.0% |
3 | Boston | 74.1 | $14,106 | $38,543 | 20.3% |
4 | Sacramento, Calif. | 72.0 | $15,114 | $37,314 | 19.3% |
5 | Nashville, Tenn. | 69.0 | $15,114 | $35,251 | 19.1% |
6 | Hartford, Conn. | 61.9 | $11,688 | $38,973 | 17.4% |
7 | Houston | 60.9 | $12,091 | $34,236 | 18.7% |
8 | Austin, Texas | 60.6 | $12,192 | $38,927 | 16.6% |
9 | Los Angeles | 60.2 | $12,091 | $32,567 | 19.1% |
10 | Memphis, Tenn. | 59.1 | $9,068 | $34,091 | 20.3% |
11 | San Antonio | 58.8 | $10,076 | $37,930 | 17.9% |
12 | Pittsburgh | 58.5 | $10,076 | $28,375 | 21.6% |
13 | Washington | 58.0 | $10,076 | $32,443 | 19.8% |
14 | Buffalo, N.Y. | 54.9 | $9,673 | $37,672 | 16.9% |
15 | Cincinnati | 54.4 | $10,076 | $31,249 | 19.0% |
16 | Riverside, Calif. | 54.0 | $12,091 | $28,538 | 18.5% |
17 | Louisville, Ky. | 53.7 | $4,433 | $29,565 | 23.4% |
18 | New York | 52.6 | $6,751 | $38,000 | 18.0% |
19 | Dallas | 51.5 | $11,184 | $33,391 | 16.3% |
20 | San Diego | 50.5 | $11,083 | $31,560 | 16.7% |
21 | Kansas City, Mo. | 50.4 | $9,572 | $31,751 | 17.7% |
22 | Seattle | 49.8 | $9,068 | $32,565 | 17.5% |
23 | Providence, R.I. | 48.9 | $8,464 | $33,355 | 17.3% |
24 | Columbus, Ohio | 47.7 | $11,083 | $28,734 | 16.9% |
25 | Denver | 47.2 | $6,449 | $29,523 | 19.7% |
26 | Phoenix | 44.7 | $7,557 | $27,546 | 18.8% |
27 | Richmond, Va. | 44.4 | $6,046 | $30,266 | 18.7% |
28 | Las Vegas | 43.5 | $7,053 | $25,861 | 19.4% |
29 | Birmingham, Ala. | 43.0 | $5,038 | $28,677 | 19.5% |
30 | Baltimore | 39.9 | $6,046 | $27,665 | 18.1% |
31 | Milwaukee | 39.8 | $6,046 | $30,426 | 17.0% |
32 | Philadelphia | 39.3 | $6,549 | $34,575 | 14.8% |
33 | Oklahoma City | 38.9 | $10,076 | $25,916 | 15.6% |
34 | Portland, Ore. | 38.4 | $5,038 | $28,369 | 18.0% |
35 | Indianapolis | 35.0 | $5,844 | $27,436 | 16.6% |
36 | St.Louis | 34.8 | $5,139 | $29,982 | 16.0% |
37 | Virginia Beach, Va. | 33.7 | $7,658 | $22,334 | 16.9% |
38 | Detroit | 33.6 | $3,124 | $25,885 | 18.6% |
39 | Charlotte, N.C. | 32.5 | $7,355 | $26,957 | 14.8% |
40 | Raleigh, N.C. | 32.3 | $5,038 | $28,966 | 15.5% |
41 | Chicago | 31.2 | $2,015 | $25,643 | 18.7% |
42 | Minneapolis | 29.0 | $5,038 | $27,268 | 15.1% |
43 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 28.8 | $5,830 | $21,931 | 16.5% |
44 | Cleveland | 25.5 | $302 | $22,207 | 19.2% |
45 | Atlanta | 24.3 | $4,030 | $22,317 | 16.1% |
46 | Tampa, Fla. | 23.9 | $0 | $17,854 | 20.6% |
47 | Salt Lake City | 22.2 | $8,061 | $23,106 | 12.1% |
48 | Orlando, Fla. | 21.1 | $0 | $17,543 | 19.7% |
49 | Miami | 20.5 | $1,108 | $20,456 | 17.5% |
50 | New Orleans | 16.4 | $1,008 | $20,562 | 16.1% |
Average | 46.1 | $7,861 | $30,144 | 18.0% |
