What are the best cities for women-led businesses? A comprehensive list was released Monday morning to shed some light on the matter.
The financial planning website WalletHub surveyed 100 of the largest metropolitan areas, looking at numbers such as average revenue growth, but also networks that support women in various stages of their businesses.
Three scores based on friendliness to new businesses, female entrepreneurship and business climate for women helped determine how cities ranked.
As with all such surveys, though, it pays to look a little closer at the findings, and you'll see that some cities are better for women starting their businesses, while others are scored poorly for the unequal ratio of female- to male-owned businesses. Fresno, for instance, ranks first for the highest average revenue growth of women-owned businesses, but the California city did not make the top 10 list. Also, smaller cities suffer from bigger percentage shifts from small movements in their markets. (To view the findings in their entirety, click here.)
The 10 best cities
1. Nashville,Tenn.
More: Who are the Music City's top women?
2. Chattanooga, Tenn.
More: The city is home to the JumpFund, a group of women investing in women.
3. Columbus, Ohio
Also: Take a look at how startups get support in Columbus.
4. Memphis
More: Be a part of the next group in the Upstart Accelerator in Memphis program
5. Milwaukee, Wis.
More: Here's how else Milwaukee fared in the rankings.
6. Rochester, N.Y.
More: A primer on finding funding in New York State
7. Kansas City
More: This Kansas City foundation is shaping the business world.
8. Spokane, Wash.
More: Women's business networks in the Spokane area
9. Greensboro-High Point, NC
More: The top women in the Triad
10. Honolulu
More: Meet the female industry leaders of 2016
The five worst cities..
95. Sarasota, Fla.
96. Pittsburgh
97. Columbia, SC
98. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
99. Ventura, Calif.
100. San Jose, Calif.
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