Ten Small Cities to Start a Business in 2023

Is it possible you have thought about starting your own business? If you have then hopefully you've thought about the type of business you want to start, startup costs and your target market. Whatever the impact you hope to have in the world, your location will be a significant factor.

Recently, WalletHub updated their information listing the best and worst small cities to start a business in 2023.

1. Washington, UT = 66.77
2. St. George, UT = 65.64
3. Cedar City, UT = 64.96
4. Bozeman, MT = 61.84
5. Logan, UT = 61.08
6. South Bradenton, FL = 60.7
7. Post Falls, ID = 60.62
8. Fort Myers, FL = 60.21
9. Lehi, UT = 60.15
10. Morrisville, NC = 60.05

To decide on the best small cities to start a business, WalletHub compares more than 1,300 small cities based on 18 different criteria.

Business Environment: 50/100 points

• Average Length of Work Week
• Average Commute Time
• Average Growth in Number of Small Businesses
• Startups per Capita
• Average Revenue per Business
• Average Growth of Business Revenues
• Industry Variety

Access to Resources: 25/100 points

• Financing Accessibility
• Investor Access
• Human-Resource Availability
• Higher-Education Assets
• Workforce Educational Attainment
• Working-Age Population Growth
• Job Growth

Business Costs: 25/100 points

• Office-Space Affordability
• Labor Costs
• Corporate Taxes
• Cost of Living

A small city means a population of 25,000 to 100,000 residents and excludes the outskirts of the town. The 18 different criteria are placed into three categories: business environment, access to resources and business costs. Business Environment is worth the most at 50 points out of 100. Business Environment includes factors such as the average work hours per week, commute time, startups and growth in business revenue. Access to Resources, worth 25 points, covers accessibility to financing, human resources, and the working-age population. The last 25 points come from Business Costs such as your cost of living in this city, office-space affordability and taxes on your new business.

1) Washington, Utah

At the top of the list is Washington, Utah with a score of 66.77. With just over 28,000 residents, Washington sits on the southwest corner of Utah, near the northern border of Arizona and the eastern border of Nevada. It offers residents a suburban-rural mix feel. While this is a small and connected community, a new business would need to compete with the other small business startups. However, because of the community support and economic boost from small businesses, this city might be the best place to start your new adventure.

2) St. George, Utah

Second on the list is St. George, Utah. This town has shown continuous growth in population over the past two decades, located on Interstate 15 between Las Vegas, Nevada and Salt Lake City, Utah, and west of Washington, Utah. St. George ranks 1st on the list for Business Environment. While St. George has many provoking factors that could convince you to move there and start your business, the scenery motivates most people to move here. St. George is surrounded by red rocks with many trails making it an easy place to explore by foot or bike. St. George is near the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and has beautiful year-round weather. You can enjoy the summers with the mild heat and embrace the snow in the winters.

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