The south is the top area to start a new business

4/14/2011

With access to commercial loans improving, many entrepreneurs are considering starting a new company. To give their new business the best chances at survival, entrepreneurs need to pick an opportune spot to open up shop.

According to a new On Numbers report from the Business Journals, the southern half of the United States seems to be the best place to start a new company. Ten of the top 20 locations reported are in the southern portion of the country, including four of the top five.

The top market to start a new business is in Austin, Texas. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma were also prime locations.

"Our six-part formula considered factors as diverse as local concentrations of small businesses, population growth, and employment gains or losses. It then rated the small business climates in 100 U.S. metros, including 37 in the South," explains the source. "We define a small business as any private sector company with 99 or fewer employees."

A recent report from CNN Money also suggested that Nevada and Georgia were top places to start new businesses because of high unemployment rates and large populations of new college graduates.