Houston #4 place to launch startups

Oct 19 2009 Published by under Ramblings

Oddly, no cities in California…

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 data on factors such as per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, crime rates, taxes and foreclosures.

We also looked at population size. While some entrepreneurs prefer to locate near major cities, others opt for the intellectual spark and intimacy of college towns and other small, close-knit communities. One size doesn’t fit all, so our list is divided into three tiers: small, midsize and large metro areas.

Then we turned reporters loose on the top places. Over the course of several months, we spoke with hundreds of entrepreneurs and economic development officials about the pros and cons of metro areas throughout the U.S. Using those findings, we adjusted our rankings and picked this year’s winning places.

Best Places to Launch

One response so far

  • Vikram says:

    I don’t think it’s odd at all that cities in California didn’t make the list – high taxes, unionized work forces, excessive government regulation and a bankrupt state are not business friendly. California has had a net loss of population due to people leaving the state. You should read the July 11th, 2009 issue of The Economist. Very interesting comparative profile on Texas vs California.