Small businesses remain a major force in the U.S. economy, accounting for roughly 46% of employment nationwide and totaling more than 36 million companies. A new metro-area analysis by Coworking Cafe found that the strongest environments for entrepreneurs are increasingly concentrated in the South, particularly in Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas.
The study evaluated metro areas with populations above 100,000 using factors including business formation, survival rates, economic growth, workforce strength, and coworking availability.
Miami Leads Large Metros
Among major metro areas with populations above one million, Miami ranked first. The city posted one of the country’s highest rates of small business density and business formation, alongside strong self-employment levels and high survival rates for new companies.
Austin placed second, supported by rapid GDP growth, a strong startup culture, and continued migration into the region. Washington, Raleigh, and Denver rounded out the top five.
Researchers noted that many top-performing large metros shared similar traits: strong population growth, high business survival rates near 90%, and expanding flexible workspace markets that support freelancers and early-stage companies.
Charleston Tops Mid-Sized Markets
In the mid-sized category, Charleston ranked first thanks to high business survival rates and steady new business formation. Florida metros including Sarasota and Cape Coral also performed strongly, reflecting continued migration into the state and growing demand for local services.
Bridgeport and Portland also ranked highly due to strong income levels, low unemployment, and high concentrations of independently owned businesses.
Western Small Cities Continue To Punch Above Their Weight
Smaller metros showed a split between the South and the West. Boulder took the top spot overall in the small-metro category, driven by startup investment, high business density, and one of the country’s strongest coworking markets per capita.
Other top-ranked smaller metros included Midland, Naples, and Cheyenne. Cheyenne stood out nationally for business formation, recording nearly 9,000 new business applications per 100,000 residents annually, helped by Wyoming’s lack of corporate and personal income taxes.
Across nearly all categories, researchers found that high-performing metros combined business-friendly economic conditions with migration growth, educated workforces, and infrastructure supporting independent work, including coworking and flexible office space.
