In order to bring you our list of top 20 best cities for startups and entrepreneurs, we analyzed relevant data of the country’s 50 most populous urban centers. Because scale is in itself a factor, we also grouped cities by population brackets. This week we bring you our findings for each separate group of top cities for startups in the U.S.:

• Top 10 startup cities with population above 1 million,
• Top 10 startup cities with population between 500,000 and 1 million,
• Top 10 startup cities with population below 500,000.

Top Cities for Startups in the U.S. – Population Above 1M

Texas and California each have three entries in this group, almost all huddled together in the top spots. Among cities with population larger than 1 million, Dallas ranked best, followed by California’s San Diego, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Houston rounded out the top five, followed by Chicago in sixth place. San Antonio came in seventh, with Phoenix, Philly, and NYC filling in the final three spots.

Dallas, TX

Dallas ranked 15th on our previous list of top cities for startups in the U.S., but now tops the list of best startup cities with population above 1 million. In this top 10, Big D ranked second, after Houston, for cowork cost affordability; second for tech ed growth, after San Jose, CA; second for nonemployer growth, after San Diego; and second for startup density, after Texas’ own San Antonio. Among similarly sized cities, Dallas came in third-most attractive to millennials and is also home to the third-largest millennial population bracket. For housing affordability, Dallas ranked fourth best, after Phoenix, San Antonio, and Houston.

San Diego, CA

San Diego was the best scoring California city with a population larger than 1 million. Among similarly sized urban centers, the Plymouth of the West ranked first for growth in millennial population, first for startup growth, and first for nonemployer growth. San Diego came in second for tech education and third for tech employment growth. Not at all bad for a long-time military town that has successfully diversified its economy to include industries like biotechnology, telecommunications, and tourism.

San Jose, CA

Although the Northern California tech hub did not make the overall top 20 ranking, it did quite well within its class. Home to the largest percentage of Kickstarter success stories, San Jose also ranked first in group for tech education and for tech education growth. For tech employment growth, the city ranked second behind Chicago. The city’s next-best ranking factors were startup growth rate (fourth) and startup density (fifth) among cities with population above 1 million. San Jose was the seventh-most attractive to millennials and ranked eighth for nonemployer growth.

Los Angeles, CA

L.A.’s top-ranking metrics landed third in group: third-highest startup growth rate, third-best nonemployer growth, and third-best Kickstarter success rate. Los Angeles ranked fifth among the country’s largest cities for tech education growth and for tech employment growth. The City of Angels boasts the seventh-largest percentage of the population with a higher education certification in a tech discipline. L.A. also landed seventh in this top 10 for startup density and for affordability of monthly cowork costs.

Houston, TX

Space City ranked first for affordability of housing and cowork costs as well as for affordability of labor, having seen the slowest five-year tech wage increase out of the million+ population cities on our list. Houston ranked third in group for startup density and for startup survival. The city is home to the fourth-largest percentage of millennial residents out of the total population, and saw the fourth-largest growth in number of millennial residents. Houston ranked fifth in group for the share of population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher in a tech discipline. The rate at which the number of such residents has increased placed Houston seventh for tech education growth.

Chicago, Il

The data we analyzed showed that Chicago saw the largest tech employment growth and its economy nurtured the highest startup survival rate. Among cities with population above 1 million, Chicago is home to the largest share of millennial residents. The City of the Big Shoulders also bears a strong tech education inclination, ranking third for share of residents holding science and engineering bachelor’s degrees or higher, as well as the third-highest growth in number of such residents. For the cost of living metrics of affordability of housing and of cowork costs, Chicago ranked sixth.

San Antonio, TX

The third Texas city in this top 10, San Antonio scored the most points for startup density, a metric for which it is on par with its smaller neighbor to the north. Among similarly sized cities, the City of the Alamo ranked second for startup growth rate, behind San Diego, and showed the second-largest increase in number of millennial residents. San Antonio fared well in terms of cost of living, landing second for housing affordability and third for cowork costs. The increase in number of tech jobs placed the city fourth for tech employment growth. San Antonio also ranked fourth for tech ed growth as well as increase in number of nonemployer firms.

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix’s best ranking metric was talent affordability, with the second-slowest tech wage increase on our list, behind Houston. The city also fared well for living costs, coming in third for affordability of housing and fifth for cowork cost. Phoenix also saw the fifth-largest growth in number of millennial residents among the country’s largest urban centers. The local entrepreneurial community saw the fifth-best nonemployer growth, while the startup density and startup survival rate both landed Phoenix in sixth place.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia landed ninth on our list of top cities for startups in the U.S. with a population above 1 million. Affordability of cowork costs and housing ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Wages for computer, mathematical, architecture, and engineering occupations in Philly saw the fourth-slowest increase, after NYC, Phoenix, and Houston. Although local startup density ranked tenth, the data showed Philadelphia had the seventh-largest startup growth rate and the fourth-best startup survival rate. The increase in number of one-person enterprises placed Philly seventh for nonemployer growth.

New York, NY

In all its hustling and bustling complexity, New York City still has room to grow for entrepreneurs and rounds out this top ten. While the city ranked eighth for startup density and ninth for startup growth rate, NYC’s startup survival rate ranked second in group. Nonemployer growth landed New York in sixth place. The city came in tenth in terms of the living cost metrics we factored in, with average housing and cowork costs combined accounting for an estimated 43% of the median income for computer, mathematical, architecture, and engineering occupations. Wages in these occupations have seen the third-slowest increase in NYC, compared to the other million+ population cities on our list.

Top Cities for Startups in the U.S. – Population Between 500K and 1M

All ten entries presented in this section also made the cut in our overall top 20 ranking, but you’ll find they ranked differently for some metrics when compared only to similarly sized cities. Austin took the top spot within its population bracket, followed by Washington D.C. in second place and Seattle in third. Denver placed fourth, just ahead of San Francisco, which rounded out the top five. Charlotte came in sixth, followed by Portland. Boston got the eighth-best score in group, with Sacramento ninth, and Fort Worth closing out this top 10.

Austin, TX

Texas’ capital landed the top spot on our list of 10 best U.S. cities for startups and entrepreneurs between 500K and 1 million people. Boasting the highest startup density and nonemployer growth as well as the second-highest startup growth rate and tech employment growth. While it ranked fourth-in-group for housing affordability, Austin came in tenth for most affordable in average cowork cost.

Washington, DC

D.C. ranked among the top five for most ranking factors. The city scored first, both in group and nationwide, for being home to the highest percentage of tech educated people. Washington was second in group for both percentage of millennial residents out of the total population and growth rate, second for startup survival rate (was fifth in the overall top 20), and second-slowest wage growth in computer, mathematical, architecture, and engineering occupations. The 30% increase in number of industry jobs placed D.C. third for tech employment growth, two positions up compared to the top 20 standing.

Seattle, WA

The Emerald City saw the biggest increase in number of millennial residents and is home to the second-largest share of tech educated population with 11.5% holding a science and engineering bachelor’s degrees or higher. The 63.3% Seattle startup survival rate placed the city fourth-in-group for this metric, a four-position climb compared to the overall top 20. Seattle came in third both among the 20 top cities for startups in the U.S. and within its population bracket of between 500,000 and 1 million.

Denver, CO

The Mile High startup scene retained fourth place among cities in its population bracket based on its overall score. For average cowork cost, Denver ranked eighth in the top 20, but came in third among similarly-sized cities. Startup density placed Denver 12th overall, but fifth in group. The city also climbed from sixth-fastest startup growth rate in the original ranking to third-fastest in this top 10.

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco’s best ranking metrics among peer population cities were the share of millennial residents (highest nationwide) and the startup growth rate, which came in fourth in the top 20 ranking. 11.4% of residents aged 25 to 39 hold a science and engineering bachelor’s degree or higher, which placed S.F. third for tech ed in both rankings. The local startup density of 14.9% earned ninth spot in the top 20, but fourth in this top 10.

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte saw the second-highest tech ed growth between 2013 and 2017 both in the overall ranking and within its population bracket. Cost of living metrics (affordability of housing and of cowork cost) ranked seventh in the top 20, but climbed to second spot in this top 10. Growth in number of solo businesses ranks third among similarly sized cities, one position higher than in the top 20. On this chart, Charlotte’s startup density climbs to third place from eighth, and the startup survival rate and startup growth rate take the fifth spot, up from nine and 10, respectively.

Portland, OR

Portland’s highest-ranking metric remained nonemployer growth, for which the city came in second-in-group. Compared to cities within its population bracket, Portland was fifth for housing affordability, a hefty climb from the 11th spot it held in our original ranking. The city also fared much better for tech ed growth, landing fifth-in-group compared to 15th in the overall top 20. Portland ranked sixth for cowork cost affordability, and seventh for tech ed, startup density, and startup survival rate.

Boston, MA

Boston took the lead for startup survival rate in this ranking. Being an already established and highly competitive startup hub, Boston came in tenth for startup density and nonemployer growth. The startup growth rate, however, came in seventh, six positions higher than in the overall top 20 ranking. Higher education degree attainment by nearly 10% of the population and tech employment growth of 26% landed Boston fourth in group for both metrics. Last but not least, among cities with population between 500,000 and 1 million, Beantown was the sixth-most attractive to millennials.

Sacramento, CA

The capital of the Golden State has a lot of talent to offer entrepreneurs who are building a business in tech. The city ranked first for tech employment growth and for growth in number of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher in a science and engineering discipline. Sacramento also presents well in terms of talent affordability, landing first for wage growth, which is the slowest median wage increase for computer, mathematical, architecture, and engineering occupations. Living cost metrics also paint Sacramento an encouraging color as the third-most affordable housing and fifth-most affordable cowork cost market.

Fort Worth, TX

The Western half of Texas’ most famous metroplex overtook Dallas in the overall top 20 ranking of cities for startups in the U.S. Among urban centers with population between 500,000 and 1 million, Fort Worth ranked first for affordability of housing and of average monthly cowork cost. The city ranked third for tech ed growth with a 13.2% increase in the number of residents aged 25 to 39 that held a bachelor’s degree or higher in a science and engineering discipline. As the local administration pursued a more diverse economy, the number of jobs in computer, engineering, and science occupations increased 25% placing Fort Worth fifth for tech employment growth.

Top Cities for Startups in the U.S. – Population Below 500K

The top 10 cities for startups in our smaller population bracket include the country’s most (still) affordable cities in which to live and start a business, and which have a budding entrepreneurial scene and diversifying economies. Atlanta topped the list in this category. Kansas City took second place, followed by Minneapolis and Oakland. Raleigh wrapped up the top five. Texas’ entry on this list is Arlington, in sixth place. Long Beach got the seventh-best score and Miami came in eighth. Wichita and Mesa landed ninth and tenth best, respectively.

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta lands in the top position among the cities in our smaller population bracket. The city scored best-in-group for growth in tech employment and in millennial population. “The A” came in third in its group for Tech Ed, a significant climb compared to the city’s 10th place in the overall ranking. In our overall rankings, the city came in first for startup survival rate. Within its population bracket, however, Atlanta was overtaken by Miami, which had not made the cut in our initial top 20 ranking.

Kansas City, MO

Kansas City scored best-in-group for startup density and for startup growth rate. While the city ranked sixth nationally for tech employment growth, it came in third among cities with population below 500,000, immediately behind Atlanta and Mesa. Tech Ed is another aspect for which Kansas City ranked very well here, sixth in group, as opposed to 18th in the overall ranking. Kansas City boasted the third-best rent-to-income ratio in its population bracket group and in the top 20.

Minneapolis, MN

While the city came in ninth for Tech Ed nationwide, it settled in spot number two in this grouping, second only to Raleigh. The 63.4% startup survival rate places Minneapolis seventh nationwide, but fourth in this group. The vibrant Midwest startup hub ranked sixth-most attractive to millennials in our overall top 20, but number three within this population bracket. With millennials accounting for 30.3% of residents, Minneapolis is first for millennial percentage among U.S. cities with population below 500,000.

Oakland, CA

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