In the United States, 36.2 million small businesses employ about 46% of the working population, making independent businesses key to the economy.
There are about 10,000 small businesses per every 100,000 residents in the U.S., and there were 5.2 million new business applications in 2024 alone.
It's not always easy to survive as a small business however. Survival rates range between 88% and 94% depending on the area, with some metros performing dramatically better than others, according to a study from Coworking Café.
Small businesses tend to thrive in large and mid-sized metros in the south, especially in Texas and Florida. Texas has the second largest number of small businesses nationally with 3.5 million, and Florida is third with 3.49 million small businesses. Small metros in the West also do well, especially in states like California.
"The best places for small business owners are not simply the lowest-cost places or the places with the loudest 'business-friendly' message," said Steven W. Pedigo, professor at the University of Texas at Austin, in a statement. "They are the places where entrepreneurs can operate, connect, hire, find customers and build a life. That is the modern small business equation, and it's about talent, quality of place, flexible space, social capital, market demand and a public sector that gets the basics right."
The slideshow above highlights five of the best large metro areas for small businesses, according to Coworking Cafe.
Photo credit: loreanto/Adobe Stock
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