Grand Rapids ranks as No. 2 ‘large city to start a business’ in US

Grand Rapids ranks as No. 2 ‘large city to start a business’ in US

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Grand Rapids is considered one of the nation’s best cities for entrepreneurship.

Grand Rapids ranks No. 2 in the 2016 ranking of the “Best Large Cities to Start a Business” released today by WalletHub, a personal finance website.

Holland also ranks No. 1 in the 2016 ranking of the “Best & Worst Small Cities to Start a Business” released by WalletHub earlier this month. 

Methodology

The ranking analyzed the 150 largest cities in the U.S. and ranked them based on 16 metrics relevant to entrepreneurship.

Grand Rapids’ total score of 52.52 out of 75 points is second only to No. 1-ranked Sioux Falls, S.D. at 52.65.

The 16 metrics were each given a corresponding weight and separated into three categories: business environment, access to resources and costs.

Grand Rapids ranks 16th in business environment, 43rd in access to resources and 13th in costs.

It is the top overall city in “highest average growth of number of small businesses.”

Grand Rapids also ranks highly in prevalence of investors, 6th, financing ability, 18th, and industry variety, 23rd.

Detroit’s ranking

Detroit ranks No. 56 overall and ranks as the city with the lowest labor costs and second highest availability of human capital.

Top 10

1.   Sioux Falls, South Dakota (52.65)
2.   Grand Rapids (52.52)
3.   Oklahoma City (52.22)
4.   Lincoln, Nebraska (52.03)
5.   St. Louis (51.81)
6.   Salt Lake City (51.07)
7.   Charlotte, North Carolina (50.85)
8.   Springfield, Missouri (50.77)
9.   Tulsa, Oklahoma (50.69)
10. Amarillo, Texas (49.70)