Ranking It
Texas dominates new list of best cities to start a business
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Texas. Six Lone Star cities, including Dallas, land on CNBC's first-ever report on America's Best Places to Start a Business.
To determine the rankings, CNBC pulled data on cities with populations over 500,000 in categories such as business costs, quality of life, and small-company success. Dallas ranks No. 8.
One of the biggest draws for the area, says CNBC, is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. "DFW handles 64 million passengers a year, earning it the designation as one of the busiest airports in the world," writes CNBC. "But even with its size (five airline terminals and 2,000 flights daily), DFW is well run, easy to navigate, and allows travelers to get in and out quickly."
A growing population, good salaries, and reasonable home prices contributed to Dallas' ranking. While there's no individual or corporate income tax, Dallas does levy a margins tax on gross receipts for businesses — but that hasn't stopped startups from popping up. CNBC says DFW startups attracted more than $100 million in the first quarter of 2016, four times the last quarter of 2015.
At the top of the list is Austin, which has the highest rate of new entrepreneurs in the nation. Other Texas towns in the top 20 include Houston (No. 6), San Antonio (No. 10), McAllen (No. 12), and El Paso (No. 16).
Provo, Utah, ranks second, and Washington ranks third.
