The number of startups in Chicago has skyrocketed over the last decade, according to a new report.
Chicago has seen some of the fastest startup growth in the nation in the last 10 years, as the number of upstarts in the Windy City has increased 270 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to The Center for an Urban Future, a New York think tank that analyzed data from Crunchbase. That growth rate is the 7th highest in the nation, behind only San Francisco, Brooklyn, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Produced in partnership w/ @DowntownBklyn @DUMBOBID @bklynnavyyard @IndustryCity, the report finds that Brooklyn was 2nd in the nation in the growth of tech start-ups over the past decade—the borough’s 356 percent increase topped all but one of the country’s 17 major tech hubs. pic.twitter.com/N2ctsRnzJL
— Center for an Urban Future (@nycfuture) June 12, 2019
Chicago's startup scene grew from 908 companies in 2008 to 3,359 in 2018, an increase of 2,451 businesses.
In terms of volume, Chicago trails only the San Francisco/Bay Area, New York City, Boston and Los Angeles on number of total startups.
Chicago outpaced Austin and Seattle---two cities its startup ecosystem is often compared to---in startup growth and number of companies. LA boasts more than twice as many startups as Chicago, and grew at a slightly faster clip (279 percent).
"This new analysis of tech startup trends over the past decade reveals meteoric growth in tech startups in cities across the U.S., with some of the biggest increases occurring outside of traditional hubs," the report said.
You can read the full report here.
