The top 10 cities for women entrepreneurs:
1. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is well-known
for its entrepreneurial climate, particularly in the technology industry.
With nearby Silicon Valley and a whopping 13.7 businesses per 100 residents,
the city has plenty of fellow entrepreneurs for networking and collaboration
opportunities. The Bay Area is also home to three of the nation’s most
famous businesswomen, Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook), Marissa Mayer (CEO of
Yahoo) and Meg Whitman (CEO of Hewlett-Packard).
2. Seattle, WA
Seattle is one of the most
highly educated cities and has a correspondingly high median income and low
unemployment rate. With 12.5 businesses per 100 residents, the city is
highly entrepreneurial, and women own around 4 of those businesses.
Organizations
like CHEW organize events and panels to encourage
female entrepreneurs to open their businesses in Seattle. Seattle is also
home to one of the world’s most famous and civic-minded businesswomen, Melinda
Gates, as well as rising chef and restaurant entrepreneur Renee Erickson.
3. Washington, DC
Over one-third
of businesses in DC are owned by women, meaning that women in this city can
find plenty of female coworkers and mentors. The city provides plenty of
resources to women as well, such as the Washington, DC Women’s Business
Center. The organization, partially funded by the SBA, offers
trainings, classes and one-on-one consultations.
4. Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis
has the dual benefits of having a very low unemployment rate and an educated
workforce. Additionally, women own almost a third of businesses in
Minneapolis. Minnesotan businesswomen can meet each other and network at
quarterly events at Women Entrepreneurs of
Minnesota. The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) of Minnesota
is very active, providing networking and other events, and nearby twin-city
Saint Paul-based WomenVenture offers
loans and transitional career services.
5. Portland, OR
This
laid-back West Coast city has it all: plenty of businesses, a good share of
which are owned by women, an educated general populace and a low unemployment
rate. Additionally, organizations like Women Entrepreneurs of Oregon hold plenty of
events for women. Intel is
Oregon’s largest employer, and the company has six Oregon campuses as well as a
female Executive Vice President, Renee James.
6. Atlanta, GA
Atlanta
has plenty of businesses, a third of which are run by women, and an educated
population, making it a great city for female entrepreneurs. Plus,
businesswomen can meet at the various networking events and educational
programs run by the NAWBO in
Atlanta. The Georgia Mentor Protégé
Connection assists women in finding mentors, and the state provides
plenty of trainings and networking assistance for women business owners.
7. Austin, TX
Austin
is known for its startups—there are almost 11 businesses for every 100 Austin
residents. Austin has a very low unemployment rate of only 6.2%, which is
one reason we rated it as the number one city for job seekers.
With organizations like Austin Women in Technology,
businesswomen in Austin will have little trouble finding a supportive and
knowledgeable community.
8. Raleigh, NC
Raleigh’s
low unemployment rate and high number of businesses per person make it a great
city for female entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can check out organizations
like Raleigh Business and Professional Women for
resources. In addition, the City of Raleigh has adopted a Small
Disadvantaged Minority and Women Owned Business Program,
promising to award 15% of the city’s contracts to minority-owned and
women-owned businesses.
9. Denver, CO
Denver
is a highly educated city with plenty of businesses, 30% of which are owned by
women. The Mile High City also has resources for businesswomen
through The Entrepreneur Centerat
the University of Denver, which provides mentorship and networking
opportunities. The city even hosts Denver Startup Week, a week of trainings, office hours,
parties, mentorship and networking events. The week was so successful in 2012
that the city has announced a second year of the program.
10. San Diego, CA
With
an educated population, moderately high median income and entrepreneurial
atmosphere, San Diego is a great city for women in business. San
Diego female entrepreneurs can access mentors, workshops, networking events and
various small business tools through SCORE and the NAWBO. There are also several startup incubators
in the city that help foster entrepreneurs and their ideas, including EvoNexus and the newly launched cybersecurity
incubator CyberHive.
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