2014's Best Small Business Cities in America

Biz2Credit MAY 2014 2014'S BEST SMALL BUSINESS CITIES IN AMERICA Analysis Examined Markets with the Highest Annual Revenue, Credit Scores and Other Factors New York United States Average Annual Revenue: Average Credit Score: Average of Age in Months: Average BizAnalyzer Score: $5,74,801 637 47.3 52.6 San Jose Santa Clara County, California Average Annual Revenue: Average Credit Score: Average of Age in Months: Average BizAnalyzer Score: $4,99,811 685 67.4 57.7 Meanwhile, despite being the nation's financial hub and a city with a thriving economy, the New York City metro area ranked only seventh in the Biz2Credit's Best Small Business Cities rank- ing because of the high cost of doing business. Biz2Credit.com has identified San Jose as the Best Small Busi- ness City in America, based on a weighted average that includes annual revenue, credit score, age of business (in months), cash flow, debt-to-income ratio, incorporation (C-Corp or LLC vs. sole proprietorship), and business owners' personal credit scores. "San Jose remains the center of innovation and new business job creation in the U.S., Surprisingly, Detroit-Dearborn scored very well in large part because of the auto industry's rebound and the growing technology sector in the area." - Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, "While revenue figures are usually higher for New York-based companies, so are the costs of operation. The minimum wage is higher, and now Mayor DeBlasio has expanded paid sick leave. This hinders small business owners, When fixed and marginal costs are high, it impacts cash flow significantly. There is also some fallout still from Hurricane Sandy and its impact on small businesses. This, too, hurt New York's ranking." - Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, Houston dropped from the top spot last year. The oil boom in Texas has slowed little, and business growth not at the pace that we saw last year. BIZ2CREDIT DEFINED "SMALL BUSINESSES" AS COMPANIES HAVING FEWER THAN 250 EMPLOYEES OR LESS THAN $10 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUES. THE TOP 25 CITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN 2014 ARE: 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Detroit-Dearborn, MI Denver, CO Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA San Francisco-Oakland, CA 14. Indianapolis, IN Houston, TX Chicago, IL Portland, OR 2. 15. 3. 16. 4. 17. 5. 18. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 6. Las Vegas, NV 19. Phoenix-Scottsdale, AZ 7. New York metro area 20. Charlotte, NC San Antonio, TX Seattle-Tacoma, WA 8. Atlanta, GA Washington, DC metro area Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 21. 9. 22. Jacksonville, FL Philadelphia, PA Orlando-Kissimmee, FL 10. 23. 11. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 24. 12. Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Sacramento, CA 25. 13. THE TOP 10 METRO AREAS BY ANNUAL REVENUE: 10 Riverside San Bernardino, CA Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim, CA Detroit Dearborn MI San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara CA Portland, OR Jacksonville, FL New York metro Chicago IL-IN-WI Las Vegas, NV Denver, Co "Centers of technological innovation are booming. Cities like Portland and Jacksonville are taking advantage of their slower pace, lower costs and good standard of living offered to residents," - Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, THE TOP 10 METRO AREAS BY AGE OF BUSINESS (IN MONTHS): 2 10 Philadelphia metro area San Antonio, TX Sacramento. CA Orlando, FL Washington, DC metro area Dallas Fort Worth, TX Seattle Tacoma, WA Jacksonville, FL Portland, OR Houston metro area "The small number of months in business indicates more startups in an area. Philadelphia, San Antonio, Sacramento, and Orlando were among the leaders. These cities are places where immigrant businesses are growing, Meanwhile, Washington benefits from Federal investments. The city also is a magnet for young people." - Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, THE TOP 10 METRO AREAS BY CREDIT SCORE: 10 San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara, CA Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim, CA San Francisco Oakland CA Detroit Dearborn, MI Tampa St. Petersburg Clearwater, FL Las Vegas, NV Sacramento, CA Denver, New York metro Portland. OR "Small businesses in areas where technology is booming, such as San Jose, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, tend to have higher credit scores, They are also areas with a long history of innovation and thus have well-established companies with higher credit scores." - Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, About the Biz2Credit Best Small Business Cities in America Study Biz2Credit analyzed 12,000 businesses with less than 250 employees and less than $10 million in annual revenues from across the country that have been in operation for more than 1 year. About Biz2Credit Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit Business Loans is a leading credit marketplace connecting small- and medium-sized businesses with lenders, service providers, and complementary business tools. The company matches borrowers to financial institutions based on each business's unique profile -- completed in less than four minutes -- in a safe, efficient, price-transparent environment. Biz2Credit's network consists of 1.6 million users, 1,300+ lenders, credit rating agencies such as D&B and Equifax, and small business service providers including CPAS and lawyers.