- Small businesses make up a staggering 99.9% of all businesses in the US, according to a 2018 report.
- To find the best cities for startups, software company Volusion took into account the percentage of workers employed by startups, startup density, and cost of living, among other factors.
- 1.9% of startups in the top city, Seattle, receive venture capital funding, making it a haven for fledgling businesses.
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Almost every business in the US is a startup.
According to a 2018 profile by the US Small Business Administration, 99.9% of businesses in the country are startups (businesses with 500 or fewer employees).
To find out which cities were the best places to run a startup, software company Volusion analyzed the 2017 US Census Bureau Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE). They took into account factors like the percentage of workers employed by startups, startup density, and cost of living, among others.
The top city, which encompasses the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in Washington, is home to corporate giants Amazon, Starbucks, and Microsoft. Despite those big brands, Seattle is a haven for startups. Around 1.9% of Seattle startups receive venture capital funding - far more than businesses in any other city - which makes their chances of surviving and growing that much better.
Here are the 15 best cities for startups.