Milwaukee ranks No. 1 in this indicator of startup activity, study finds

Milwaukee has the youngest small businesses among U.S. cities nationwide, which is an indicator of startup activity, according to a recent study.

The average age of small businesses in Milwaukee in 2022 was 55 months or about four-and-a-half years, according to a new study by New York City-based small business lending platform Biz2Credit Inc.

“Age of business is an indication of entrepreneurship and new business growth," Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora said in a statement. "Our analysis found that companies are sprouting in places like Milwaukee, Birmingham, Alabama, and Greenville, South Carolina."

The study reviewed thousands of credit inquiries and applications from U.S. small businesses in 2022, looking at firms with fewer than 250 employees or less than $10 million in annual revenue. It ranked the top 25 best cities for small businesses based on average annual business revenue, credit scores, age of businesses, and other factors including the city's rent, labor costs and taxes.

San Francisco was the overall best U.S. city for small businesses, the study found. It was followed by Sacramento, California; San Diego; New York City and Boston. Milwaukee ranked No. 15 on the list in 2022 after being unranked the previous year.

The average age of small businesses in San Francisco was 65 months or nearly five-and-a-half years. Overall, the average age of small businesses in U.S. cities in 2022 was 58 months compared with 54 months in 2021.

After Milwaukee, the other top 10 cities U.S. cities with the youngest businesses, on average, in 2022 were:

The top 25 overall U.S. cities for small businesses in 2022 were: