4 Gulf Coast cities ranked among top in US to start a business

Southwest Florida has several of the best small cities in the country for starting a business, according to WalletHub.

The finance site evaluated more than 1,300 cities that had 25,000 to 100,000 residents, and it found several in the region made the the cut when it came to business environment, access to resources and business costs.

Small businesses per capita, office space availability, labor costs, investor access, growth in the number of small businesses and cost of living were some factors in the rankings.

Among the top 20 on WalletHub's 2024 "Best & Worst Small Cities to Start a Business" list were Fort Myers (No. 3), South Bradenton (No. 6), Sarasota (No. 17) and Bradenton (No. 20), according to Wallethub. (A city, according to the report, refers to proper and excludes the surrounding metro area. No information was provided on the breakdown between Sarasota, South Bradenton and Bradenton.)

Topping the list was Cedar City, Utah.

Here are the top 20 small cities to start a business, according to WalletHub:

1. Cedar City, Utah
2. St. George, Utah
3. Fort Myers, Florida
4. Washington, Utah
5. Post Falls, Idaho
6. South Bradenton, Florida
7. Morrisville, North Carolina
8. Lehi, Utah
9. Altamonte Springs, Florida
10. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
11. Bozeman, Montana
12. Eagle Mountain, Utah
13. Winter Park, Florida
14. Midvale, Utah
15. American Fork, Utah
16. Helena, Montana
17. Sarasota, Florida
18. Casselberry, Florida
19. Springville, Utah
20. Bradenton, Florida