Austin Is the No. 2 Large Metro for Small Business

Austin's economy is being shaped by thousands of small businesses. A new CoworkingCafe analysis ranked the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro as the No. 2 best large metro in the U.S. to launch a small business.

Austin's supportive small-business environment shows up in the numbers:

• 2,300+ new businesses per 100,000 residents in 2024
• 12,415 small businesses per 100,000 residents
• 48.1% of local employment coming from small businesses
• 71.4% labor force participation
• nearly 50% GDP growth from 2019 to 2023

Austin is known for its startup economy, but few realize that the small business economy here is one of the strongest in the country. Austin's growth is thanks to restaurants, agencies, gyms, clinics, trades businesses, retailers, service companies, and local operators, not just tech unicorns. In fact, nearly half of local employment comes from small businesses.