Launching a business can be difficult, but one small city in Alabama is doing everything it can to make life easier on entrepreneurs. WalletHub, a company that describes itself as a “one-stop destination for all the tools and information consumers and small business owners need to make better financial decisions and save money,” ranked the best places to start a business, and Dothan, Alabama, made it into the Top 10.
Dothan is the eighth best city in the country to start a business, according to WalletHub. The site analyzed data from 1,268 small-sized cities to determine their rankings. WalletHub’s sample only included cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000. According to the site, Holland, Michigan is the number one place to start a business.
The cities were analyzed in three areas: 1) Business Environment, 2) Access to Resources and 3) Business Costs. Under these categories, more specific characteristics were studied, such as average growth in the number of small businesses, the prevalence of investors, affordability of office space, and corporate taxes.
WalletHub’s Top 10 small cities to start a business are:
1. Holland, Michigan
2. North Chicago, Illinois
3. Brighton, New York
4. Jefferson City, Missouri
5. La Vergne, Tennessee
6. Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
7. Clearfield, Utah
8. Dothan, Alabama
9. Cheyenne, Wyoming
10. Deerfield Beach, Florida
Dothan was ranked so high primarily for the low cost of operating a business in the city. WalletHub also reported that Dothan had the cheapest office spaces in the country.
Of the 1,268 cities ranked on WalletHub’s list, thirteen came from Alabama, but none of the other twelve came anywhere near Dothan’s spot. The other Alabama cities included on the list are: Tuscaloosa (133); Florence (247); Auburn (263); Bessemer (280); Decatur (427); Hoover (436); Opelika (500); Alabaster (511); Phenix City (602); Vestavia Hills (645); Madison (718); and Enterprise (1147).
Head over to WalletHub to check out the full list.
