Top 50 Entrepreneurial Cities

Wondering how your burg measures up against other cities? Check out the Visa Entrepreneurial Index to find out.

By Steve Cooper • Jan 04, 2005

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

How entrepreneurial is your city? Visa asked that question and developed the Visa Entrepreneurial Index, which assigns a score between 1 and 100 to the nation’s major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on two main criteria: the average number of new business licenses and DBA registrations; and the number of utility patents issued.

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Rank	MSA	State	Score
1	Austin	TX	95
2	San Diego	CA	93
3	West Palm Beach	FL	93
4	Houston	TX	90
5	Raleigh	NC	90
6	Dallas	TX	87
7	Detroit	MI	86
8	Salt Lake City	UT	85
9	Phoenix	AZ	81
10	Seattle	WA	81
11	Atlanta	GA	79
12	Indianapolis	IN	76
13	Charlotte	NC	75
14	Grand Rapids	MI	74
15	Tampa	FL	72
16	Los Angeles	CA	71
17	San Francisco	CA	70
18	Boston	MA	69
19	Hartford	CT	68
20	Orlando	FL	68
21	Milwaukee	WI	68
22	Columbus	OH	68
23	Portland	OR	67
24	Sacramento	CA	67
25	Rochester	NY	66
26	Jacksonville	FL	66
27	Denver	CO	65
28	Las Vegas	NV	64
29	Cincinnati	OH	64
30	Chicago	IL	63
31	Cleveland	OH	62
32	Philadelphia	PA	61
33	Buffalo	NY	60
34	Memphis	TN	60
35	Kansas City	MO	59
36	Nashville	TN	58
37	Louisville	KY	58
38	New Orleans	LA	58
39	Greensboro	NC	58
40	Minneapolis	MN	57
41	Miami	FL	56
42	Richmond	VA	56
43	San Antonio	TX	56
44	Washington	DC	55
45	Pittsburgh	PA	53
46	New York	NY	46
47	Providence	RI	38
48	St. Louis	MO	35
49	Oklahoma City	OK	28
50	Norfolk	VA	27

Click here to see the list

Rank	MSA	State	Score
1	Austin	TX	95
2	San Diego	CA	93
3	West Palm Beach	FL	93
4	Houston	TX	90
5	Raleigh	NC	90
6	Dallas	TX	87
7	Detroit	MI	86
8	Salt Lake City	UT	85
9	Phoenix	AZ	81
10	Seattle	WA	81
11	Atlanta	GA	79
12	Indianapolis	IN	76
13	Charlotte	NC	75
14	Grand Rapids	MI	74
15	Tampa	FL	72
16	Los Angeles	CA	71
17	San Francisco	CA	70
18	Boston	MA	69
19	Hartford	CT	68
20	Orlando	FL	68
21	Milwaukee	WI	68
22	Columbus	OH	68
23	Portland	OR	67
24	Sacramento	CA	67
25	Rochester	NY	66
26	Jacksonville	FL	66
27	Denver	CO	65
28	Las Vegas	NV	64
29	Cincinnati	OH	64
30	Chicago	IL	63
31	Cleveland	OH	62
32	Philadelphia	PA	61
33	Buffalo	NY	60
34	Memphis	TN	60
35	Kansas City	MO	59
36	Nashville	TN	58
37	Louisville	KY	58
38	New Orleans	LA	58
39	Greensboro	NC	58
40	Minneapolis	MN	57
41	Miami	FL	56
42	Richmond	VA	56
43	San Antonio	TX	56
44	Washington	DC	55
45	Pittsburgh	PA	53
46	New York	NY	46
47	Providence	RI	38
48	St. Louis	MO	35
49	Oklahoma City	OK	28
50	Norfolk	VA	27