Jefferson City, Maryland Heights, and St. Peters are three of the top 30 best small cities to start a business in the nation, according to a recent study by WalletHub.
WalletHub analysts examined 1,261 small cities and compared them on 16 different metrics, including accessibility of financing, workforce availability, workforce education, labor costs, office space costs, average growth in number of small businesses, most startups per capita, average revenue, industry variety, and length of workweek. Jefferson City ranked fifth, Maryland Heights ranked 19th, and St. Peters ranked 28th.
Meanwhile, Missouri overall ranked in the middle of the pack for its economic outlook, according to the 2017 Rich States, Poor States study from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC’s annual report examines 18 different state policy metrics—such as tax burden, minimum wage, workers’ compensation costs, right to work laws, GDP and job growth, and domestic migration—to rank each state’s economic competitiveness. The Show-Me State ranked 24th for economic outlook, but 41st for economic performance. After a promising 2017 legislative session, however, things could be turning around.
