Every small city provides unique advantages and unique challenges for starting a business. Lower overhead costs and close relationships with customers may be among one small city’s benefits. The inability to develop a large professional network could be that small city’s challenge.  To find the best small cities in which to start a business, WalletHub’s analysts compared small 1,268 cities (municipalites with a population size between 25,000 and 100,000) across three key factors:

1 | Business Environment
2 | Access to Resources
3 | Business Costs

Top 100 Small Cities to Start a Business

(Notes: Beneath this list, you will find the top 5 rankings of small cities related to several specific attributes. For this ranking, a city’s population refers to one municipality, not the population of a region or a collection of adjacent municipalities. For this ranking, the definition of “small city” is “municipalites with a population size between 25,000 and 100,000.”More information about the research and its methodology can be found at WalletHub.com)

Most Accessible to Financing

Tie 1 | Muncie, Indiana
Tie 1 | St. Cloud, Minn.
Tie 1 | Pine Bluff, Ark.
Tie 1 | Florence, Ala.
Tie 1 | Walla Walla, Wash.
Tie 1 | Parkersburg, W. Va.

Highest Employee Availability

1 | San Luis, Ariz.
2 | Yuma, Ariz.
3 | Calexico, Calif.
4 | El Centro, Calif.
5 | Clovis, Calif.

Most Educated Workforce

Tie 1 | Bethesda, Md,
Tie 1 | Wellesley, Mass.
3 |  McLean, Va.
4 | Wilmette, Ill.
5 | Princeton, NJ

Lowest Expensive Office Space

1 | Dothan, Ala.
2 | Kentwood, Mich.
3 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.
4 | Raytown, Mo.
5 | Salisbury, Md.

Lowest Median Annual Income

1 | Carbondale, Ill.
2 | East St. Louis, Ill.
3 | Statesboro, Ga.
4 | Youngstown, Oh.
5 | Pullman, Wash.

Longest Average Work Week

1 | Fort Hood, Tex.
2 | Jacksonville, NC
3 | North Chicago, Ill.
4 | Twentynine Palms, Calif.
5 | Hoboken, N.J.

Highest Average Growth in the Number of Small Businesses

1 | Salisbury, Md.
2 | Carbondale, Ill.
3 | New Iberia, La.
Tie 4 | Gulfport, Miss.
Tie 4 | Biloxi, Miss.

Highest Number of Startups Per Capita

Tie 1 | Miami Beach, Fla.
Tie 1 | Davie, Fla.
Tie 1 | Plantation, Fla.
Tie 1 | Sunrise, Fla.
Tie 1 | Boca Raton, Fla.

Highest Average Revenues Per Business

Tie 1 | Baytown, Tex.
Tie 1 | Port Arthur, Tex.
Tie 1 | La Vergne, Tenn.
Tie 1 | Deer Park, Tex.
Tie 1 | Foster City, Calif.
Tie 1 | North Chicago, Ill

Most Industry Variety

1 | Santa Paula, Calif.
2 | Hobbs, N.M.
3 | Burlingame, Calif.
4 | Fitchburg, Wis.
5 | Lakeville, Minn.