Atlanta is the nation's best city for entrepreneur

[Guest donaltopablo]

Atlanta is the nation's best city for entrepreneurs, according to a survey by Inc. Magazine.

The study, based on a review of job growth data in 277 cities, ranked Atlanta No. 1 because of its diverse mix of industries and relatively affordable housing climate.

"Atlanta has recovered from the doldrums of the 2000 recession to become the top city for entrepreneurial growth," according to the survey, the first such ranking by the magazine.

Atlanta's sprawl helped the area, according to the study.

"A region's overall affordability was the theme that united the cities atop this year's list," said Joel Kotkin, the author of the article. "For that reason, cities with sprawling suburbs fared very well, often at the expense of more high-priced urban areas."

The magazine's 10 best and 10 worst cities:

Best cities

1. Atlanta

2. Riverside-San Bernadino, Calif.

3. Las Vegas

4. San Antonio

5. West Palm Beach

6. Camden, N.J.

7. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood-Pompano Beach, Fla.

8. Jacksonville

9. Newark, N.J.

10. Suburban Maryland-D.C.

Worst cities

1. San Jose

2. Grand Rapids, Mich.

3. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

4. Dayton, Ohio

5. Rochester, N.Y.

6. New York

7. San Francisco

8. Portland, Ore.

9. Boston

10. Philadelphia

[Raleigh-NC]

I can't see how sprawl helped Atlanta to top the list, but I am not surprised about the outcome, anyway. Atlanta offers diversity, and this helps more than anything else. I can't see why Camden and Newark made the "best cities" list, but I am sure something must be happening up there; good news for New Jersey.

[Guest donaltopablo]

I can't see how sprawl helped Atlanta to top the list, but I am not surprised about the outcome, anyway. Atlanta offers diversity, and this helps more than anything else. I can't see why Camden and Newark made the "best cities" list, but I am sure something must be happening up there; good news for New Jersey.

Sprawl probably helped the list because of the low cost of running the business (rent/real estate, wages, etc).

"A region's overall affordability was the theme that united the cities atop this year's list," said Joel Kotkin, the author of the article. "For that reason, cities with sprawling suburbs fared very well, often at the expense of more high-priced urban areas."

[Twin Cities]

That's interesting because Entrepreneur Magazine/.com ranked the Twin Cities as the best place for entrepreneurs. Number 3 is still excellent though!

1. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN/WI

2. Washington, DC, MD/VA/WV

3. Atlanta, GA

4. Fort Lauderdale, FL

5. Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT

6. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL

7. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA/NC

8. Miami, FL

9. Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC

10. Orlando, FL

[Guest donaltopablo]

I wonder how much money these cities have to pay to get to be #1, LOL!

Seriously though, I wonder how well Miami would have done if it West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale had been combined. All three are in the top ten and basically the same metro.

[M. Brown]

What about the crime?

[Guest donaltopablo]

What about the crime?

Crime is surprisingly absent from this article. I imagine it plays a much smaller factor to costs judging by the way the article was written. I know Atlanta ranks very high in crime within the city. But I imagine the burbs are no worse off than most other cities which is probably what most of this article refers to anyway.

[BrandonTO416]

The more I read these lists, the more I consider them B.S.

Sprawl has little to do with entrepreneurship; housing in Portland, Oregon's urban areas is very low then most urban areas in the country; and highly competitive outside that - just check any realtor website.

Besides that, Oregon has a 4% state income tax and no sales tax. So the tax situation can't be an issue here..

Yet it fares poorly?

Yeah. Right.

These lists are so b.s. its not funny.

Atlanta IS a good city for entrepreneurship - I will not deny that. But you really can't put a solid ranking on it.

[Guest donaltopablo]

Yeah, there is certainly more to good places for entrepreneurship than sprawl. Sometimes, it can be little things, and those can vary from place to place with a metro area.

For example, in Carroll county (farest edge of the metro, very sprawled) the cost to start a business (for a business license only) is nearly $300 dollars. In Lawrenceville, where my business is, it was $25 dollars. Also, another thing I think helps start up business the the availability of competing business services - shippers, telecom, office space, supplies, suppliers. All of things play a role in what most start up businesses deal with early in their lives, not how good the job market is or how cheap the housing is. Most new business start in the city where the owner currently resides, and most probably start up with fewer than 5 people, so other than prehaps speciality businesses, the job market pool isn't a big factor either.

I would have to agree, most of those lists are a lot of BS and it makes me wonder what kind of start up businesses they talked to to build their list of requirements.

[BrandonTO416]

That list really tee's me off though about Portland.

Portland is one of the most entreprenerial spirited cities in the country. It's got a fair tax system - and no sales tax is a big deal. Businesses don't have to mess around /w the accounting required for that - a big deal for small business.

The housing market is very competitive and lots of choices are around. You can live in a real urban environment in Portland, as well as a sprawl community if you want.

It does have a high unemployment rate since their economy relies so much on high tech, but that is commonplace around the nation.

I just don't get it..