The Top 10 US Cities For New Star­tups In 2024

2024 might be the year you em­bark on your en­tre­pre­neur­ial jour­ney. There is one as­pect that de­mands care­ful con­sid­er­a­tion: choos­ing the right city for your startup. TechNational pre­sents a com­pre­hen­sive guide to aid as­pir­ing en­tre­pre­neurs in this crit­i­cal choice.

We have metic­u­lously an­a­lyzed data to com­pile a list of the Top 10 US Cities for New Star­tups in 2024. As­pir­ing en­tre­pre­neurs can make use of this guide to launch their star­tups in en­vi­ron­ments that fos­ter rapid busi­ness growth.

Join us as we un­veil the top 10 cities, ex­plor­ing their suc­cess sto­ries and the di­verse fac­tors that make them ideal launch­pads for the next gen­er­a­tion of in­no­v­a­tive busi­nesses.

Met­ric In­sights

TechNational has made use of data from the US Cen­sus, Bu­reau of La­bor Sta­tis­tics and other of­fi­cial data to for­mu­late the list, fo­cus­ing on key met­rics in­clud­ing:

Self-Em­ploy­ment Rates:

A high self-em­ploy­ment rate in­di­cates a cul­ture that en­cour­ages en­tre­pre­neur­ship and self-re­liance, cre­at­ing an en­vi­ron­ment con­ducive to startup suc­cess.

Cor­po­ra­tion Tax Rates:

Fa­vor­able tax en­vi­ron­ments at­tract busi­nesses. Lower cor­po­ra­tion tax rates can con­tribute to in­creased prof­itabil­ity for star­tups in these cities.

Per Capita Income:

A higher per capita in­come sug­gests a fi­nan­cially sta­ble pop­u­la­tion, po­ten­tially lead­ing to in­creased con­sumer spend­ing and mar­ket op­por­tu­ni­ties for star­tups.

Some of the additional metrics used to complete our rankings include:

Num­ber of Star­tups:

The sheer num­ber of star­tups in a city is a key in­di­ca­tor of a thriv­ing en­tre­pre­neur­ial ecosys­tem. It sig­ni­fies a dy­namic com­mu­nity with am­ple net­work­ing op­por­tu­ni­ties and a cul­ture that em­braces in­no­va­tion.

Num­ber of Cowork­ing Spaces:

Cowork­ing spaces pro­vide an af­ford­able and col­lab­o­ra­tive en­vi­ron­ment for star­tups. A higher num­ber of these spaces in a city in­di­cates a sup­port­ive in­fra­struc­ture for new busi­nesses.

Num­ber of Ac­cel­er­a­tors:

Ac­cel­er­a­tors play a cru­cial role in pro­vid­ing men­tor­ship, fund­ing, and re­sources to star­tups. Cities with a sig­nif­i­cant num­ber of ac­cel­er­a­tors of­fer valu­able sup­port for growth.

Top 10 Cities For New Star­tups in 2024

1. San Fran­cisco, CA

San Fran­cisco, of­ten syn­ony­mous with in­no­va­tion, con­tin­ues to be a startup pow­er­house. Boast­ing the high­est num­ber of star­tups and ac­cel­er­a­tors, the city’s Sil­i­con Val­ley re­mains the epi­cen­ter of global tech ad­vance­ments. Its vi­brant en­tre­pre­neur­ial spirit is fur­ther fu­eled by a cul­ture that em­braces risk-tak­ing and dis­rup­tion.

Not only does San Fran­cisco of­fer a con­ducive ecosys­tem for tech star­tups, but the net­work­ing op­por­tu­ni­ties within the in­dus­try gi­ants pre­sent un­par­al­leled ad­van­tages. Com­pa­nies like Airbnb, born in the city, are tes­ta­ment to its nur­tur­ing en­vi­ron­ment.

2. Austin, TX

Known for its eclec­tic cul­ture and lower tax rates, Austin has emerged as a bea­con for star­tups, es­pe­cially in the tech and en­ter­tain­ment sec­tors. The city’s mu­sic and film fes­ti­vals con­tribute to its cre­ative vibe, at­tract­ing en­tre­pre­neurs seek­ing an in­no­v­a­tive and dy­namic at­mos­phere.

In 2023, Texas was the num­ber one state for jobs added to the econ­omy. The com­bi­na­tion of a sup­port­ive com­mu­nity, lower liv­ing costs, and a ro­bust in­fra­struc­ture po­si­tions Austin as a prime des­ti­na­tion for star­tups aim­ing for both in­no­va­tion and sus­tain­abil­ity.

3. Seat­tle, WA

Seat­tle, home to tech gi­ants Ama­zon and Mi­crosoft, stands as a tes­ta­ment to the po­ten­tial of a thriv­ing startup ecosys­tem. The city not only of­fers a mul­ti­tude of cowork­ing spaces but also boasts a high me­dian house­hold in­come (an all-time high of $115,400 in 2022), re­flect­ing a pros­per­ous com­mu­nity. The prox­im­ity to ma­jor cor­po­ra­tions cre­ates a unique en­vi­ron­ment for col­lab­o­ra­tion and men­tor­ship.

The city has a par­tic­u­lar com­mit­ment to tech­nol­ogy and real es­tate in­no­va­tion. Seat­tle con­tin­ues to at­tract en­tre­pre­neurs with its blend of eco­nomic sta­bil­ity, tech­no­log­i­cal in­fra­struc­ture and a com­mit­ment to en­vi­ron­men­tal sus­tain­abil­ity.

4. Den­ver, CO

Den­ver, with its Rocky Moun­tain back­drop, is be­com­ing a sought-af­ter des­ti­na­tion for star­tups. The city’s startup scene is pro­pelled by a high self-em­ploy­ment rate (10.5%), in­di­cat­ing a cul­ture that en­cour­ages en­tre­pre­neur­ship.

Den­ver’s ap­peal lies in its bal­anced lifestyle, of­fer­ing ac­cess to both out­door ac­tiv­i­ties and a grow­ing ven­ture cap­i­tal pres­ence. With a col­lab­o­ra­tive com­mu­nity, Den­ver pro­vides an ideal en­vi­ron­ment for star­tups look­ing to grow amidst a sup­port­ive ecosys­tem.

5. Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, nes­tled in the Re­search Tri­an­gle Park, has po­si­tioned it­self as a hub for star­tups, par­tic­u­larly in the tech sec­tor. Low cor­po­ra­tion tax rates (2.5% in 2024) and a bur­geon­ing tech com­mu­nity make Raleigh an at­trac­tive des­ti­na­tion. The city fos­ters col­lab­o­ra­tion be­tween star­tups and es­tab­lished re­search in­sti­tu­tions, cre­at­ing a unique en­vi­ron­ment for in­no­va­tion.

Band­width, a com­mu­ni­ca­tions soft­ware com­pany, ex­em­pli­fies Raleigh’s com­mit­ment to tech­nol­ogy. En­tre­pre­neurs in Raleigh ben­e­fit not only from a sup­port­ive busi­ness en­vi­ron­ment but also from a lower cost of liv­ing com­pared to many other tech hubs.

6. At­lanta, GA

At­lanta’s di­verse econ­omy and af­ford­able liv­ing make it an ideal city for star­tups to flour­ish. The city’s strate­gic lo­ca­tion as a trans­porta­tion hub en­hances ac­ces­si­bil­ity, con­tribut­ing to its ap­peal for busi­nesses in var­i­ous in­dus­tries.

The city is ideal for young peo­ple look­ing for job op­por­tu­ni­ties (the un­em­ploy­ment rate sat at 3.1% in No­vem­ber 2023) and At­lanta’s startup scene is vi­brant, dri­ven by a mix of tech­nol­ogy, en­ter­tain­ment and health­care com­pa­nies. As At­lanta con­tin­ues to at­tract a di­verse range of busi­nesses, its sup­port­ive ecosys­tem po­si­tions it as a ris­ing star for en­tre­pre­neurs seek­ing op­por­tu­ni­ties in the South­east­ern United States.

7. Boston, MA

Boston, known for its pres­ti­gious uni­ver­si­ties and rich his­tory, has evolved into a thriv­ing hub for star­tups. The city’s con­cen­tra­tion of graduate tal­ent from in­sti­tu­tions like MIT and Har­vard pro­vides a ro­bust tal­ent pool for emerg­ing busi­nesses (par­tic­u­larly in ar­eas of bi­o­log­i­cal sci­ences, med­i­cine and tech­nol­ogy).

There are over 50 ac­cel­er­a­tors in the city which fur­ther con­tributes to Boston’s ap­peal, pro­vid­ing men­tor­ship and re­sources to star­tups. The city’s com­mit­ment to ed­u­ca­tion, in­no­va­tion and a di­verse range of in­dus­tries makes it an at­trac­tive des­ti­na­tion for en­tre­pre­neurs look­ing to make a sig­nif­i­cant im­pact.

8. Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City, with its busi­ness-friendly en­vi­ron­ment and grow­ing tech­nol­ogy sec­tor, is emerg­ing as a de­sir­able base in the startup world. The city’s em­pha­sis on out­door recre­ation and qual­ity of life adds an at­trac­tive di­men­sion for en­tre­pre­neurs. Salt Lake City’s tech­nol­ogy ecosys­tem is thriv­ing, at­tract­ing com­pa­nies and in­vestors alike.

Qualtrics, a leader in ex­pe­ri­ence man­age­ment, is a tes­ta­ment to the city’s po­ten­tial for tech in­no­va­tion. En­tre­pre­neurs in Salt Lake City ben­e­fit from a sup­port­ive com­mu­nity, ac­cess to cap­i­tal, and a lifestyle that bal­ances work and recre­ation, mak­ing it an ap­peal­ing des­ti­na­tion for star­tups.

9. Pitts­burgh, PA

Pitts­burgh, once an in­dus­trial hub, has rein­vented it­self into a tech­nol­ogy-dri­ven city, mak­ing it a hid­den gem for star­tups. The city’s re­vi­tal­ized econ­omy (ex­pe­ri­enc­ing a 4.1% GDP growth rate), cou­pled with low liv­ing costs, po­si­tions Pitts­burgh as an at­trac­tive des­ti­na­tion for en­tre­pre­neurs.

As Pitts­burgh con­tin­ues to fos­ter a cul­ture of en­tre­pre­neur­ship, star­tups ben­e­fit from a unique blend of his­tor­i­cal charm and cut­ting-edge tech­nol­ogy, mak­ing it an ex­cit­ing des­ti­na­tion for for­ward-think­ing en­tre­pre­neurs.

10. Mi­ami, FL

Florida has seen im­mense ven­ture in­vest­ments in the last two years, re­main­ing far more open than other states dur­ing the pan­demic. Mi­ami with its strate­gic lo­ca­tion, cul­tural di­ver­sity and fa­vor­able tax en­vi­ron­ment, is there­fore an at­trac­tive des­ti­na­tion for star­tups across var­i­ous in­dus­tries.

Back in 2017, Mi­ami had the coun­try’s high­est startup den­sity (107.8 star­tups per 1000 em­ployer firms) and the city’s rep­u­ta­tion as a tech and in­no­va­tion hub in the South­east­ern United States has re­mained ap­peal­ing.

With a fo­cus on in­ter­na­tional trade and a busi­ness-friendly cli­mate, Mi­ami pro­vides a unique en­vi­ron­ment for star­tups look­ing to es­tab­lish them­selves in a dy­namic and di­verse mar­ket.

Clos­ing Thoughts

And that con­cludes our list! These cities stand out as the top choices for en­tre­pre­neurs look­ing to launch their star­tups in 2024. So, whether you seek the a career in the es­tab­lished tech scene of San Fran­cisco or the emerg­ing op­por­tu­ni­ties in cities like Raleigh, each des­ti­na­tion of­fers a unique blend of re­sources and sup­port to fos­ter fast new-busi­ness growth. Choose wisely, and em­bark on your startup jour­ney with con­fi­dence.