R9

8,1 8 9

FA
C

.0
3
3

R8
FACTO

28

3.

41

1 8/ 1 0 6

5%

CT
A
F

OR

3%
/1 0

3.7

78

87/ 1 0 6

Three-year
change
(2011-2014) in
gross metropolitan
product, a
measure of the
areas total
output of goods
and services.
(Weight: 2)
One-year
change
(2013-2014)
in gross
metropolitan
product.
(Weight: 1)

Three-year
change
(2011-2014) in
total personal
income, a
measure of the
combined annual
income of all
residents. (Weight: 2)

13

SOURCES: Small-business and population statistics came from

the U.S. Census Bureau, employment figures came from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and income and gross metropolitan
product (GMP) data came from the U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis. All statistics were for the latest year available at the time
the ratings were calculated: 2013 for small businesses, 2014 for
population and most other indicators, and 2015 for employment.
All concentration ratios and growth rates were calculated by
ACBJ. FORMULA: Factors 1-7 reflect the growth, concentration

SARASOTABRADENTON, FLA.

MIAMI

3,025

3,253

BRIDGEPORT,
STAMFORD, CONN.

2,799

2,799

NEW YORK CITY

2,764

LOCAL CONCENTRATION
LOWEST SMALL BUSINESS CONCENTRATIONS
GREATER
WASHINGTON

RiversideSan Bernardino,
Calif.

Modesto,
Calif.

2,371

1,583

1,496

Stockton,
Calif.

1,477

Bakersfield,
Calif.

1,392

McAllenEdinburg,
Texas

1,391

14

15

One-year change (2014-2015) in

private-sector employment.

Weight: 1)

METHODOLOGY FOR ACBJS SMALL-BUSINESS VITALITY SCORES

American City Business Journals (ACBJ) set out to rate the vitality
of small-business sectors in major markets across America. Here
are the details: GOAL: The studys objective was to identify those
metropolitan areas that are most conducive to the creation and
development of small businesses. A small business is defined as
an enterprise with one to 99 paid employees. AREAS: The study
covered 106 metros that had at least 500,000 residents as of 2014.
They ranged from New York City, with a metropolitan population
of 20,092,883, to Santa Rosa, Calif., with 500,292 residents.

PORTLAND,
MAINE

One-year change
(2013-2014) in total
personal income.
(Weight: 1)

Three-year change
(2012-2015) in privatesector employment. (Weight: 2)

16

HIGHEST SMALL BUSINESS CONCENTRATIONS

12

R5

/10

FAC
TO

4 6/ 1 0

14

R
TO

FA
C

13

7.9 1 %

OR 4

FAC
TO

T
FAC

4.4 3

7%

24 / 1 0

- 2 .8

R1
0

58

/10

This isnt a commonly cited statistic, but its a strong indicator of an areas small-business vitality. Think of it as a variant of population density only instead of a ratio of
people per square mile, its small businesses per 100,000 residents. Portland, Maine, historically leads this category, and its on top again this year. Miami is the only other
place above 3,000 small businesses per 100,000. McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, is last.

11

R3

06

/1 0

TO

2%

TO

82 /1

96

8%

11
FA
C

1.1

R See how this score

compares to the rest
of the country.
40
Page 30
/

CONCENTRATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES Per 100,000 residents

10

Ranking out of
106 metro areas

10

One-year change
(2013-2014) in metro
population. (Weight: 1)

C
FA

37

FACTO R

56th

Percentage of local privatesector jobs that were

generated by small businesses
(2012). (Weight: 3)

TO

4
0.

C
FA

Percentage of local
civilian workers who
were self-employed by their
own incorporated
businesses (2014).
(Weight: 3)

Three-year change
(2011-2014) in metro
population. (Weight: 2)

47.64

/10

SMALL BUSINESS VITALITY SCORE

12

One-year
(2012-2013)
change in concentration.
(Weight: 1)

06

4%

GREATER WASHINGTON

9 3/ 1 0

0. 2 7 %

FACTO R

Three-year
(2010-2013)
change in
concentration.
(Weight: 2)

18

2,

1.4

3 0/ 1 0 6

TO

06

Concentration
of small
businesses (2013),
expressed as a
ratio per 100,000
residents.
(Weight: 3)

1
2/

FA
C

2 .3 %

/1

One-year change
(2012-2013) in the
total number of
small businesses.
(Weight: 1)

1/10 6

- 0.1 3

.3

. 2 5%

Concentration of nonemployer
businesses, defined as those with no
paid employees (2013), expressed as a
ratio per 100,000 residents. (Weight: 3)

38

Three-year change
(2010-2013) in the total
number of small businesses,
expressed as a percentage,
as is true for all of the
change factors that
follow. (Weight: 2)

15
R
TO
C
FA
9%

FACTO R

R6

ACBJ used a 16-part formula to rate

the vitality of each markets smallbusiness sector. Each factor was
assigned a weight, which is shown
in parentheses:

OR 16
T
C
FA

TO

SCORING FACTORS

and influence of the small-business sector in each metro. Factor

8 focuses on a potential source of new small businesses. Factors
9-16 gauge each areas overall economic health. Each markets
performance in each category was compared against the national
average for the same category. The resulting score, known as a
z-score, was multiplied by the categorys weight. Each areas 16
z-scores were added and then converted to a 100-point scale. Final
small-business vitality scores ranged from 98.96 for Austin to 19.47
for Augusta, Ga.

JOBS AT MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES

SMALL BUSINESSES, BIG NUMBERS

Its no surprise that communities with a strong minority presence are at the
top of this list. Leading the way is McAllen-Edinburg, where two of every five
jobs is at a minority-owned business.

There is no official definition of a small business. We focused on firms with anywhere

from one to 99 workers. More than 5 million businesses fit those parameters in the
nations 106 biggest markets.

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE

141,473

LOWEST PERCENTAGE

McAllen-Edinburg, Texas

39.8%

Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

1.8%

El Paso, Texas

26.7

Lancaster, Pa.

1.8

Honolulu, Hawaii

26.4

Akron, Ohio

1.8

Los Angeles

14.7

Provo, Utah

1.6

Bakersfield, Calif.

14.4

Syracuse, N.Y.

1.3

Portland, Maine

1.2

GREATER
WASHINGTON

12.1%

Business establishments in Greater

Washington that employed
between one and 99 persons as of
2013. That ranks sixth among the
106 largest metro areas. New York
City led the country with 552,862
small businesses.

2,446,546

Paid employees at all businesses in

Greater Washington as of 2012, as
determined by the U.S. Census Bureaus
Survey of Business Owners. That ranks
seventh among the 106 largest metro
areas. New York City led the country with
7,931,623 paid employees.