For what appears to be the third year running, Washington, D.C.'s startup hub outranks all other startup hubs in one of the most well-respected studies on startup growth.
The 2017 Kauffman Growth Entrepreneurship Index, released today, places Washington, D.C. at the top of its index, which pulls data from multiple sources on startup growth, rate of startup hiring and revenue growth and more. D.C. has been in the top spot since at least 2015.
Overall, D.C. has seen a 75.5 percent increase in startup growth and 2.3 percent share of scaleups (or the prevalence of firms that grow beyond 50 employees by their 10th year). So, for every 1,000 firms in D.C., there are about 23 that scaled to more than 50 employees by its 10th year. For comparison, the nationwide statistics came to 58.42 percent startup growth and 1.30 percent share of scaleups.
Following close behind is Austin, TX in second place, Columbus, Ohio in third and Nashville in fourth.
While cause for some celebration, the report isn't all sunshine and roses for D.C. The metro area ranked 11th in the number of venture exits density — with the usual suspects of San Francisco, New York City, San Jose and Boston coming in the top four spots. The news shouldn't come as a surprise, though, given the slowed venture economy and the reliance on "mega deals" in the metro area.
Washington, D.C. ranked third, only after San Francisco and San Jose, as Cushman & Wakefield's top tech city in June. And the metro area was seen as the second top city for millennial talent, according to an American University report released in March.
