Is Tennessee small business friendly? These are the best and worst cities to start one, Forbes Advisor says
Thinking of starting a small business in Tennessee? Forbes Advisor says you may want to think twice depending on where you live.
Forbes Advisor recently released an analysis of "The Most and Least Risky Cities for Small Businesses." In this study, they looked at factors like the local growth development rate, commercial property prices, property crime rates, natural disasters, cyber crimes and more to determine which cities had the most or least risk factors involved.
Here is what the list had to say about cities in Tennessee and across the country.
Is Tennessee a good place to start a small business?
Depending on where you are in the state, the answer is either a yes or a no. Only two major Tennessee cities made it on the list. One city landed on the good list, and the other landed on the no-so-good list.
Memphis ranked as the eighth most risky city to start a business in. With a score of 80.50, Memphis was behind the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area in Pennsylvania and in front of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area in Illinois. The list ranked Memphis with the lowest GDP growth rate at -1.2% and the worst for property crime with 73 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Nashville on the other hand ranked as the fourth least risk city to have a small business in. According to Forbes Advisor, the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin metro area's score of 6.47 lands it a spot just behind Salt Lake City, Utah. Nashville's property crime rate is the ninth lowest on the list and the economy is ranked 11th best with a GDP growth rate of 0.90%.
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What are the worst cities to start a small business in?
Miami ranked as the most risky city to start a small business in. Forbes Advisor cited the high cost of supplies, high commercial rental prices and the low GDP growth rate for the city as reasons to not start a business there.
Miami, Florida metro area
Jacksonville, Florida metro area
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida metro area
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, California metro area
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California metro area
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California metro area
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania metro area
Memphis, Tennessee metro area
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois metro area
Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina metro area
What are the best cities to start a small business in?
The Raleigh-Cary metro area in North Carolina ranked as the least risky city to start a small business in. The city had a GDP growth rate of 1.6% in 2023 and the property crime rate is 50% lower than the average for the study. There was also a population growth rate of 4.7% in 2023 which can contribute to sales when starting a business.
Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina metro area
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma metro area
Salt Lake City, Utah metro area
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee metro area
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas metro area
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington metro area
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina metro area
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada metro area
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia metro area
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas metro area
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee small business friendly? See cities ranked best, worst