New study ranks Colorado Springs as number one city for small businesses in country

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new report using data from a small business banking platform has named Colorado Springs the number one city for small businesses in the country.

According to Bluevine, the company behind the study, Colorado Springs earned an overall score of 68.12. Denver and Raleigh, North Carolina rounded out the top three.

“Being recognized as the No. 1 city in America for small business is an incredible honor; and it belongs first and foremost to our entrepreneurs,” Mayor Yemi Mobolade said in a press release. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the heart of our neighborhoods. They create jobs, take risks, invest in our community, and turn ideas into opportunity. I’m incredibly proud of the small-business ecosystem we have built together in Colorado Springs and, most of all, of the entrepreneurs who make it work every day.” 

Officials say the study was developed using both publicly available economic data and activity from Bluevine, as well as data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Small Business Administration. It then used four categories, including business survival, business formation, cost of business and Bluevine banking data. Officials then say 100 metropolitan areas were analyzed.

Bluevine says it looked into aspects like one- and five-year survival rates for businesses, regional costs and growth in business banking activity.

“When looking through the methodology Bluevine developed for the study, Colorado Springs performed exceptionally well in Business Growth and in our internal Bluevine data sets - meaning that the city is seeing an influx of small businesses and our data shows that those businesses are seeing strong annual growth in account balances,” Eyal Lifshitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Bluevine said in a press release. “Along with Denver and Greeley, Colorado is the only state with three metros in the top 15 of our rankings, which shows it’s a great place for entrepreneurs looking to start a small business.”

More information about Bluevine's study, including the full rankings, can be found on their website.

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