Atlanta Tops List As Best City To Start A Business In 2024

Atlanta — with low operating costs, a vast talent pool, and scores of Black entrepreneurs — has been named this year as the nation’s top city to start a business.

A-Town received the No. 1 ranking based on a study by Home Bay. The  company analyzed the 50 most populated U.S. metro areas covering multiple metrics like new business applications, venture capital investment, and job growth.

The latest acknowledgement comes after Atlanta metro area captured the best place to start your own business in 2023 by the professional networking site LinkedIn.

Jamie Seale, author of “2024 Data: What Are the Best Cities to Start a Business?” told BLACK ENTERPRISE by email that “Atlanta has really improved as a city for entrepreneurs in the past two years.” She disclosed that Atlanta moved up from the No.5 ranking behind No. 1 Las Vegas the last time the study was done in 2022.

Seale maintained that her firm’s study differs from the LinkedIn report as it is based on many more metrics covering a longer time period, potentially providing a more comprehensive and complete picture of a city’s business environment.

The top five cities for business startups Home Bay cited were Atlanta, Georgia; Miami, Orlando, Tampa, all in Florida; and Austin, Texas. The five worst spots were Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Louisville, Kentucky.

Regarding Atlanta, Seale indicated that the city was cited as the best for several reasons including:

• “Over the past five years, Atlanta has the second-highest number of new business applications with 28.5 per 1,000 residents — almost double the number in the average U.S. city (14.5). Such a high number of business applications signals that entrepreneurs are optimistic about a city’s business/economic prospects.” 
•  “Jobs in Atlanta have grown 2.5% over the past year, versus 1.7% nationwide, indicating thriving business conditions.”
•  “Atlanta is one of the best places to network and learn with 118 CEOs per 100,000 residents —two times more than the national average.”
• “Atlanta offers a strong talent pool, with 29.6% of residents holding bachelor’s degrees. What’s more, labor costs are low in Atlanta with employees earning an annual salary of $64,107, compared to the national average of $70,443. With a low cost of doing business, entrepreneurs have more money to invest back into the business.” 

When it comes to Black entrepreneurship, Seale pointed out some strong qualities for the “Big Peach.”

Seale stressed Atlanta has more Black-owned businesses per capita than any other city. She says that males Atlanta a great place for Black entrepreneurs to network, learn and partner with other business owners in the community.

To boot, Seale added Atlanta has a strong HBCU culture, with six HBCUs — including Clark, Spelman, and Morehouse — in the metro area. “This provides a large talent pool of Black employees, which can help businesses innovate and give them a competitive advantage in the long term.”

Further, Seale reported Atlanta has several incubators, accelerators, and funding opportunities geared toward helping Black founders specifically. She says those include the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs and Hawks Ventures.

Simultaneously, business owners should be mindful launching a venture could come with some challenges.

Seale shared one of the hurdles of starting a business in Atlanta is the amount of paperwork and in-person trips to government agencies that are required. Unfortunately, she explained, navigating this complicated red tape is unavoidable because of city regulations.

“It’s important for entrepreneurs to do their homeowner and know what specific licenses they’ll need for their business. Stay organized and keep a list of forms, due dates and fees associated with getting a business up and running.”