- ZenBusiness compared income for entrepreneurs to earnings for other full-time employees by metro area to rank the cities where entrepreneurs are most successful.
- San Diego, Chicago, and San Antonio were among the cities on the list.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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The 21 big US cities where it pays most to be an entrepreneur
If you want to start your own business, you may want to move to one of these cities.
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If you are looking to start a new business endeavor, you may want to start your own company in one of these major cities.
ZenBusiness , a service that helps entrepreneurs grow their own businesses, created a ranking of the most successful metros for entrepreneurs based on the income premium for self-employed workers in 2018.
The income premium is the percent difference between the median income of entrepreneurs, who were defined as self-employed in the study, and all full-time employees using the Census Bureau's American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample.
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For example, the 2018 income premium for entrepreneurs in Las Vegas was 19.0%. That is,a typical entrepreneur in that city earns about $8,000 more thanthe median income of $42,000 of all full-time employees in Las Vegas.
The median salary for entrepreneurs in the 53 large metros on ZenBusiness' list is about $53,000, roughly the same as the overall US median annual income in 2018 of about $52,000 .
The highest income earned by entrepreneurs is in San Jose, California, where people who own their own business make a median income of $70,000.
Entrepreneurs in Salt Lake City, Utah, make the most compared to all other full-time employees in the city, making it a potentially desirable metro area for aspiring business owners. A typical entrepreneur in Salt Lake City earns about $60,000, while a typical full-time employee earns $48,200, a difference of 24.5%.
The following are the 21 US cities with a population size of over 1,000,000 residents where entrepreneurs are most successful, along with their income premium, median 2018 income, and share of entrepreneurs the percentage of workers that identify as self-employed.
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21. Phoenix, Arizona
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.5%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $49,100
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Median income for full-time workers: $46,100
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.9%
20. New Orleans, Louisiana
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.7%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000
Median income for full-time workers: $45,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.3%
19. Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.8%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
Median income for full-time workers: $56,200
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Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.5%
18. Richmond, Virginia
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.0%
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Median income for entrepreneurs: $53,500
Median income for full-time workers: $50,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.1%
17. Jacksonville, Florida
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,500
Median income for full-time workers: $45,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.5%
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16. Virginia Beach, Virginia
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $49,600
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Median income for full-time workers: $46,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.4%
15. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $55,000
Median income for full-time workers: $51,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.8%
14. San Diego, California
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 8.0%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $57,000
Median income for full-time workers: $52,800
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Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.0%
13. Portland, Oregon
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 9.1%
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Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
Median income for full-time workers: $55,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.4%
12. Chicago, Illinois
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 9.1%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
Median income for full-time workers: $55,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.6%
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11. Cincinnati, Ohio
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 10.0%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $55,000
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Median income for full-time workers: $50,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.0%
10. Austin, Texas
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 11.1%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
Median income for full-time workers: $54,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 10.7%
9. Birmingham, Alabama
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 12.0%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $56,000
Median income for full-time workers: $50,000
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Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.9%
8. Providence, Rhode Island
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 13.2%
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Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
Median income for full-time workers: $53,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.6%
7. Orlando, Florida
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 13.7%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $45,500
Median income for full-time workers: $40,030
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.6%
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6. San Antonio, Texas
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 14.3%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000
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Median income for full-time workers: $42,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.8%
5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 14.3%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000
Median income for full-time workers: $42,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.6%
4. Memphis, Tennessee
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 16.3%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $50,000
Median income for full-time workers: $43,000
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Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.7%
3. Las Vegas, Nevada
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 19.0%
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Median income for entrepreneurs: $50,000
Median income for full-time workers: $42,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.1%
2. Denver, Colorado
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 20.0%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $66,000
Median income for full-time workers: $55,000
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 10.2%
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1. Salt Lake City, Utah
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Income premium for entrepreneurs: 24.5%
Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000
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Median income for full-time workers: $48,200
Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.9%
See Also:
SEE ALSO: The 15 fastest-growing cities in the world
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