Small towns like Pineville top the charts in business success.
Looking
to start a business in North Carolina? NerdWallet ran the numbers, and it turns out the state boasts some small
but mighty cities when it comes to business. The survey covered 121,462
businesses in 115 communities, ranking each city based on business climate and
the health of the local economy. The survey reveals several key takeaways: Technological
entrepreneurism drives a healthy business culture, tourism and seniors are key to
growth, and small towns don’t mean small business. Here are the top-10 ranked
places you should look to start a business in the Tar Heel State.
| Rank | City | Population | Number of businesses | Average revenue per business | Percentage of businesses with paid employees |
Businesses per 100 people | Unemployment rate | Overall score |
| 1 | Pineville | 7,708 | 1,210 | $2,209,935 | 58.51% | 15.7 | 7.40% | 63.4 |
| 2 | Morrisville | 19,720 | 1,661 | $4,552,571 | 33.71% | 8.42 | 4.00% | 60.34 |
| 3 | Mount Airy | 10,427 | 1,257 | $1,376,742 | 50.60% | 12.06 | 6.90% | 54.65 |
| 4 | Hickory | 40,178 | 5,420 | $2,051,271 | 39.19% | 13.49 | 6.10% | 53.88 |
| 5 | Morehead City | 8,899 | 1,434 | $666,925 | 45.40% | 16.11 | 6.20% | 53.18 |
| 6 | Conover | 8,188 | 900 | $1,905,303 | 44.89% | 10.99 | 6.40% | 52.49 |
| 7 | Brevard | 7,629 | 1,816 | $288,479 | 24.12% | 23.8 | 4.10% | 52.43 |
| 8 | Aberdeen | 6,520 | 540 | $1,506,089 | 57.41% | 8.28 | 8.00% | 51.31 |
| 9 | Reidsville | 14,360 | 1,118 | $2,122,621 | 45.97% | 7.79 | 7.40% | 50.22 |
| 10 | Hendersonville | 13,233 | 2,346 | $913,873 | 35.81% | 17.73 | 6.90% | 49.71 |
