LendingTree®, the online loan marketplace, today released the findings of its study on the best and worst cities for new small businesses.
In the new study, LendingTree used data from more than 80,000 queries submitted by new small business owners seeking loan offers through its small business loan marketplace to determine where businesses tend to do the best.
First place went to Sacramento, Calif., where the average annual revenue of businesses was $315,661, and 84.3 percent of rising small businesses were profitable. In fact, three California cities — Sacramento, Los Angeles and Fresno — ranked among the top 10 best places for new small businesses.
Coming in second place overall was Grand Rapids, Mich. Businesses reported an average annual revenue of $293,495and 85.2 percent of applicants were profitable. Businesses in Grand Rapids reported they were profitable more often than businesses in top-ranked Sacramento.
The opposite happened with Portland, Ore. Rounding out the top three, the city reported an average $317,765 in business revenues and 83.2 percent of businesses reported they were profitable. While Portland’s revenue was higher than top-ranked Sacramento, fewer businesses reported they were profitable, dropping its final score to 83.
Young companies in Cincinnati reported an average annual revenue of $198,516, and about 79.8 percent of businesses reported they were profitable.
The city netted itself a low score of eight, the lowest of any other city. Rochester, N.Y., and Philadelphia follow with final scores of 14 and 17, respectively.
The study was limited to businesses that submitted query forms between six and 60 months after the business was founded, as researchers considered six months a reasonable amount of time to predict annual revenue, and businesses older than five years could be considered established rather than new.
For the full report, visit: https://www.lendingtree.com/business/small/lendingtree-ranks-best-worst-cities-new-small-businesses.
| Best Cities for Small Businesses | ||||
| Final Rank | City | Final Score | Average of Annual Revenue | % Profitable |
| 1 | Sacramento, Calif. | 90 | $315,661 | 84.30% |
| 2 | Grand Rapids, Mich. | 89 | $293,495 | 85.20% |
| 3 | Portland, Ore. | 83 | $317,765 | 83.20% |
| 4 | Knoxville, Tenn. | 73 | $241,841 | 86.80% |
| 5 | Denver | 73 | $311,744 | 82.00% |
| 6 | Seattle | 70 | $288,586 | 82.10% |
| 7 | Tulsa, Okla. | 69 | $265,217 | 83.70% |
| 8 | Albuquerque, N.M. | 68 | $273,492 | 83.10% |
| 9 | Fresno, Calif. | 65 | $292,599 | 81.50% |
| 10 | Los Angeles | 64 | $338,350 | 81.00% |
| 10 | Oklahoma City | 64 | $238,758 | 84.00% |
| 12 | Minneapolis | 64 | $242,227 | 83.40% |
| 13 | Charlotte, N.C. | 62 | $366,737 | 80.70% |
| 13 | San Francisco | 62 | $271,635 | 82.00% |
| 15 | Albany, N.Y. | 62 | $260,817 | 83.20% |
| 16 | St. Louis | 60 | $222,784 | 85.80% |
| 17 | Boston | 59 | $287,322 | 81.40% |
| 17 | Columbus, Ohio | 59 | $223,775 | 84.30% |
| 19 | Nashville, Tenn. | 59 | $282,049 | 81.40% |
| 20 | Indianapolis | 58 | $224,258 | 84.20% |
| 21 | Las Vegas | 57 | $322,277 | 80.50% |
| 22 | Greensboro, N.C. | 56 | $232,115 | 83.30% |
| 23 | Salt Lake City | 55 | $362,138 | 80.00% |
| 24 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 54 | $267,815 | 81.50% |
| 25 | Buffalo, N.Y. | 52 | $233,338 | 82.30% |
| 26 | Pittsburgh | 51 | $228,828 | 82.30% |
| 27 | Houston | 48 | $278,714 | 80.70% |
| 27 | Milwaukee | 48 | $194,782 | 84.80% |
| 29 | Greenville, S.C. | 47 | $221,008 | 83.40% |
| 30 | Dallas | 45 | $285,892 | 80.30% |
| 31 | Miami | 45 | $294,593 | 79.20% |
| 32 | New York | 44 | $301,624 | 78.50% |
| 33 | Orlando, Fla. | 43 | $256,637 | 81.10% |
| 34 | Memphis, Tenn. | 42 | $263,858 | 80.90% |
| 34 | Raleigh, N.C. | 42 | $163,290 | 83.80% |
| 36 | Kansas City, Mo. | 40 | $237,153 | 81.20% |
| 37 | Atlanta | 39 | $227,163 | 81.40% |
| 37 | Hartford, Conn. | 39 | $223,632 | 81.60% |
| 39 | Washington D.C. | 38 | $271,868 | 79.90% |
| 40 | Cleveland | 35 | $206,724 | 81.90% |
| 41 | Chicago | 31 | $270,314 | 78.20% |
| 42 | Virginia Beach, Va. | 30 | $197,585 | 81.70% |
| 43 | New Orleans | 30 | $239,913 | 80.10% |
| 44 | Harrisburg, Pa. | 25 | $215,116 | 81.10% |
| 45 | Detroit | 24 | $221,829 | 80.90% |
| 46 | Birmingham, Ala. | 23 | $198,374 | 81.30% |
| 47 | Louisville, Ky. | 21 | $222,558 | 80.50% |
| 48 | Philadelphia | 17 | $226,146 | 79.00% |
| 49 | Rochester, N.Y. | 14 | $205,132 | 80.40% |
| 50 | Cincinnati | 8 | $198,516 | 79.80% |
