With data from more than 200,000 active accounts, Bluevine has a unique view into small-business momentum across America. Combining that proprietary perspective with government data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, and other sources, Bluevine ranked the 100 U.S. metros with the most Bluevine customers and identified the top 15 cities for small businesses for 2026.
To create the top 15 list, the researchers built a weighted methodology with four categories: business survival statistics, business growth metrics, cost of business metrics, and Bluevine banking data, including new accounts, growth in balances, and account density. Each category includes multiple data points, which can be viewed in the methodology section. The researchers then standardized the results into a single score for each metro.
Key takeaways
- Three Colorado metros made the top 15: Colorado Springs (No. 1), Denver (No. 2), and Greeley (No. 12), though each stood out for different reasons.
- Growth and staying power diverged: Five top-15 metros ranked in the top 10 for business growth; none of those five reached the top half for business survival.
- Strong markets came in different sizes and across the country: Kansas City, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Philadelphia ranked in the top half of all four categories in the rankings. Nine of the top 15 metros fell outside the 30 largest in the U.S.
- Bluevine data adds what public rankings can miss: New Haven ranked 78th for business growth based on public data, while average account balances among its Bluevine customers nearly doubled.
What the rankings reveal
The list includes 15 very different kinds of small business markets. The methodology allowed for markets that may have ranked poorly in a certain metric, like regional price parity, to still score well if they ranked well in other metrics, like median individual income. The mix of public data and activity from more than 200,000 active Bluevine accounts helps show where each market’s strengths lie.
Colorado led the list in three different ways
Colorado Springs ranked No. 1, Denver No. 2, and Greeley No. 12, making Colorado the only state with three metros in the top 15. Colorado Springs led on Bluevine customer measures, Denver ranked first in business growth, and Greeley ranked first on cost-related measures. Colorado Springs also saw a 133% year-over-year increase in Bluevine account openings. Colorado’s showing is striking because its three metros did not rely on the same strengths to get there.
Business growth and survival did not always move together
Five of the top-15 metros ranked in the top 10 for business growth: Colorado Springs, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Atlanta. None ranked in the top half for business survival. Bridgeport and New Haven in Connecticut showed a different pattern, ranking fourth and 13th in survival but 47th and 78th in growth. A metro can show strong business activity without scoring equally well on business longevity. Both measures help explain its overall ranking.
Well-rounded markets appeared across the country
Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, and Philadelphia each ranked in the top half of all four categories. Kansas City had the most even showing, placing between 10th and 37th in every category. These metros are spread across several regions, giving small business owners more than one part of the country to consider if they’re looking for a market with strengths across the board. Midsize metros dominated the list: Nine of the 15 winning metros ranked 30th or lower in total population.
One weak ranking did not keep a metro out of the top 15
Greeley ranked 97th in business survival but 1st on cost-related measures, 17th in growth, and 6th on Bluevine customer measures. Atlanta ranked 71st in survival yet reached No. 7 overall, helped by top-10 rankings in growth and cost-related measures. The overall rankings are a starting point, but there’s a lot more to each market.
Bluevine’s account data surfaced activity that public measures alone would miss
New Haven ranked 78th in the business growth category, yet average balances among Bluevine customers there nearly doubled year over year—the largest increase among the top 15. Kansas City saw 120% growth in its number of Bluevine accounts. These figures describe Bluevine customers rather than every business in a metro, and they offer another, more granular view of small business activity alongside public measures such as applications and survival.
Top 15 cities for small business in 2026 (of 100 studied MSAs)
Bluevine
Bluevine
1. Colorado Springs, Colorado
Bluevine
Colorado’s second-most-populous metro, Colorado Springs, claimed the top spot. It was one of the 10 metros with the highest business growth metrics and ranked first in Bluevine customer success metrics. It is one of only five measured metros to have two top-10 rankings in its data set, and the business growth data points to a rush of small-business openings in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs ranked near the middle in business survival and in the bottom half for cost of doing business among the 100 metros. But those scores didn’t prevent it from earning the top spot. The metro scored particularly well on SBA 7(a) loan density and business applications per 100,000 residents. Bluevine’s data showed strong activity, too: new account openings rose 133% year over year—the highest among the top 15 metros—while average account balances grew 55%, the fourth-highest increase.
“My experience as a small business owner taught me that great cities do not simply attract businesses; they create the conditions for people with ideas and ambition to start, grow, and thrive,” said Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, about his city’s top spot in the rankings. “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.”
"What makes Colorado Springs special is the spirit of collaboration, from fellow entrepreneurs to Mayor Yemi and his team. This isn't just where we do business. It's our home, and we're invested in making it even better," said Johnny Joy, co-owner of The Local Motive.
2. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, Colorado
Bluevine
The Denver metro area is the second of three Colorado cities to make the top 15.
Colorado's capital claimed second place because it finished first in overall small-business growth of the 100 metros, and 12th in cost of business. That strong business growth, combined with high individual incomes, suggests Denver offers an attractive environment for entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses.
As a result, businesses have found a welcome home in Denver to try to build new business concepts, and the city has rewarded them with a supportive clientele: Bluevine accounts grew 88% year-over-year, while balances grew 46% year-over-year on average.
3. Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina
Bluevine
Raleigh is growing on multiple fronts. Not only was North Carolina's capital the fastest-growing U.S. metro area with more than 1 million residents from 2024 to 2025, but it also ranked 18th in the business growth category. The rapidly expanding population represents a growing pool of potential customers for local small businesses, while high median individual income and strong income growth suggest ample spending power to support newcomers and longtime residents pursuing their small business dreams.
Raleigh's culture also makes it the perfect place for homegrown businesses to set up shop. Julie Hafer, owner of Beauty Ethics, says, "In Raleigh, there's a welcoming energy that makes you feel supported." She jokes, "Some of us call it 'Small-leigh' because of how quickly things can catch on from word of mouth."
That level of word-of-mouth excitement helped the city see 82% in Bluevine accounts year-over-year, while Raleigh-based Bluevine customers saw 37% growth in their account balances, on average, year-over-year.
4. Salt Lake City-Murray, Utah
Bluevine
Salt Lake City’s metro area ranked in the top 10 for small business growth and in the cost of doing business, due to its high median individual income and median individual income growth. This helped it land as number four, despite ranking in the middle for Bluevine customer success and business survival rate.
Those favorable conditions helped Salt Lake City score the fifth-highest year-over-year growth in average account balances in the top 15 metros (51%), while Bluevine accounts grew 87% year-over-year in the metro.
"I've lived in a lot of big cities, and goodwill is common, not universal—but it's overflowing in SLC. There's a lot of good faith here; people are always willing to help each other," said Bart Poulson, founder of datalab.cc.
5. Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas
Bluevine
The Kansas City metro area is unique on the list: It’s one of only four metro cities that didn’t rank in the bottom half of any of the four statistical categories and the only one that scored in the upper 40th percentile of every category.
So, in a sense, the Kansas City metro area’s small-business climate provides the most balanced blend of positive factors for hopeful entrepreneurs. Specifically, it ranked 10th in small-business survival rates—meaning that when small businesses set down roots here, the city fosters an environment that allows them to last.
That’s been evident in the growth in Bluevine accounts within the city, with Kansas City having the second-highest yearly growth rate within the top 15 metros (120%), as well as a 28% yearly growth in average Bluevine account balances in the metro.
"Kansas City is big enough where there are great opportunities, but small enough to get your name out there and build a reputation. Everybody here wants the community to succeed," said Kim Rhoades, president of Brighten Builders.
6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Bluevine
Much has been written about how COVID changed population trends across the United States and brought in a wave of growth to suburbs in many large southern cities. The Dallas metro is perhaps the prime example of that: Four of the five fastest-growing cities in the U.S. with more than 20,000 people are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
DFW ranked in the top 10 in business growth and 11th in cost of doing business, showcasing that the expansive metro not only has an influx of population but a climate that makes small-business ownership accessible. Its high median individual income and median individual income growth, combined with a growing diversity of industries and verticals, have helped insulate Dallas from some of the economic downturns in recent years. That has helped Bluevine accounts grow 106% year-over-year in the metro, while average Bluevine account balances grew 28%.
"The Dallas area has an abundance of resources for small business owners—including incubators, investor programs, and VCs—so you can do everything you need to do from a startup standpoint. Plus, it's convenient to travel to either coast, or even internationally," said Conor M. Butts, founder of hōm neuro.
7. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia
Bluevine
Atlanta metro’s position as the financial and business capital of the Southeast has been solidified over the last decade, so it’s no surprise to find it on the list.
Buoyed by top-10 metro rankings in business growth and cost of doing business, Atlanta has proven to be a fantastic place for many small business owners to chase their dreams—with 82% growth year-over-year in Bluevine accounts and 30% growth in average Bluevine user account balances.
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin
Bluevine
The Twin Cities metro area comes in at No. 8 on the list, thanks in large part to being one of the four metros that finished in the upper half of all four datasets.
Eric Trettel, owner of Sota Bookkeeping, says, "Don't assume you need a storefront or a downtown address to be part of this business community. A lot of the energy now happens through remote and fractional work, not just foot traffic." He adds, "And talk to other small business owners early. In my experience, this is a market where people tend to make introductions and share what worked for them rather than treating every other small business like competition."
The Minneapolis metro showed fantastic growth in Bluevine accounts over the time period measured, with 108% growth year-over-year in Bluevine accounts, and the second-highest average growth in Bluevine account balances of the top 15 cities, with 73% average growth.
"I work with many small businesses across the metro as their bookkeeper and/or fractional controller, and almost none of them are standing still," Trettel said. "They're hiring, adding services, figuring out how to scale without losing what made them good in the first place, etc., and this growth isn't happening by accident. The city backs it up with real infrastructure, grants, and resources. This isn't just a nice place to run a business on paper; there's actual support underpinning the growth."
9. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, Connecticut
Bluevine
The Bridgeport-Stamford metropolitan area—like many former U.S. manufacturing hubs—has faced a prolonged period of economic and population decline over much of the last 100 years. But over the last two decades, the metro has focused on increasing density in its expansion. It was recently named the second-most compact and connected midsized metro in the U.S. in a study by Johns Hopkins.
Perhaps as a result of that effort, the Bridgeport metropolitan area has become ripe for entrepreneurs looking to tie their small-business future to the metro's revitalization. That revitalization, and the white space it allows for new SMBs, may help contribute to Bridgeport's high rankings in cost of doing business (9th) and business survival (4th). The metro area also saw 95% annual growth in Bluevine accounts, while the average account balances of those Bluevine accounts grew 41% year-over-year.
10. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina
Bluevine
North Carolina's growth in recent years has been well documented: It currently ranks as the third-fastest growing state in the U.S. The Charlotte metropolitan area, the largest in the state, has become a haven for small businesses.
The Queen City metro finds itself at No. 10 on the list because it ranked in the top 20 in small business growth and in Bluevine growth metrics. It experienced 97% annual growth in Bluevine accounts, while those Bluevine accounts saw 40% average growth year-over-year in account balances.
"You don't have to go looking very hard in Charlotte to find people who are building something of their own," said Cal Barton, founder of Cal Barton Cashback.
11. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee
Bluevine
Coming in at No. 11 is the Nashville metropolitan area. The Music City—like Minneapolis and Kansas City before it—is one of four metros that scored in the upper half of all four datasets. Notably, it finished in the upper 30th percentile of business survival rank, cost of doing business, and in Bluevine growth metrics, with 98% annual growth in new accounts and 65% annual growth in average account balances.
12. Greeley, Colorado
Bluevine
Greeley, Colorado, was the smallest of the metros measured and the only one to score in the bottom 10 of any individual metric: Greeley ranked third-worst of all the metros in business survival rank. That low ranking may be due to the small city's rapid expansion: Greeley has an aggressive development plan that currently ranks it as the fastest-growing city in the Centennial State, with estimates that it will double in size by 2050.
Despite the low business survival ranking, the city still secured a spot in the top 15 due to its strong rankings in the other three categories: Greeley is one of only three metros on the list to rank in the top 20 in business growth rank (17th), Bluevine account metrics (6th), and cost of doing business (1st). Its cost-of-doing-business rank is buoyed by extremely strong scores in median individual income and median individual income growth, which may suggest that the growing population is also growing in spending capability.
Greeley’s position as the metro with the most favorable cost of doing business in the U.S. shows the benefit small business owners get from putting down roots in a metro that is still within an hour of Denver but with lower costs. That climate may be a factor in the 104% annual growth in Bluevine accounts, with a 50% growth in average Bluevine account balances.
13. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
Bluevine
The City of Brotherly Love ranks No. 13 due in large part to being the fourth city to score in the upper half of all four datasets. Philadelphia scored its highest ranks in Bluevine account metrics and business growth, placing 32nd in both. Specifically, it saw a 106% growth in overall Bluevine accounts within the metro and a 31% growth in average Bluevine balances.
14. New Haven, Connecticut
Bluevine
The New Haven metropolitan area has been riding a wave of good press in recent years that reflects its stunning revitalization after decades of downturn.
Several times in just the last half-decade, the New York Times has profiled the city's rebirth as a destination for individuals seeking a small, accessible, and affordable coastal city. The statistics measured for this list largely agree with much of that positive press: New Haven ranked in the top 15 for small business survival (13th), Bluevine customer success metrics (11th), and cost of doing business (13th).
In fact, New Haven ranked the highest of any of the top 15 cities in average yearly Bluevine account balance growth (98%), while its Bluevine accounts also grew 98%.
15. Jackson, Mississippi
Bluevine
Jackson—Mississippi’s capital city and largest metro area—takes the final spot.
Jackson scored in the top 20 in two categories, ranking 12th in Bluevine success metrics and 20th in business survival. And, while Jackson ranked in the bottom half of measured metros for cost of doing business, due to a low median individual income score, it offers prospective entrepreneurs an accessible path to business ownership and high business survival rates within the greater national context.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Mississippi ranks as the most affordable state in the country. And that affordability could be a contributor to the growth in Jackson, with 111% year-on-year increase in Bluevine accounts and 53% increase in account balances.
Methodology
Which metros were studied
Bluevine evaluated the 100 U.S. metro areas with the most Bluevine customers. The ranking combines public data with data from more than 200,000 active Bluevine accounts.
What went into the score
Each metro was scored across four categories. The percentages below show how much each measure contributed to the final score.
- Business survival (25%): Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) one-year business survival rate (10%) and five-year survival rate (15%).
- Business growth (25%): U.S. Census Bureau business applications per 100,000 residents (5%); Small Business Administration (SBA) small business density (5%) and 7(a) loan density (10%); and BLS employment rate (5%).
- Cost of business (20%): Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (5%); U.S. Census Bureau median individual income (10%); and BLS income growth (5%).
- Bluevine customer activity (30%): Bluevine account density (10%), year-over-year growth in new account openings (10%), and year-over-year growth in average account balances (10%). Account density is the number of active Bluevine business accounts divided by the estimated number of small businesses in each metro.
How metros were ranked
Bluevine standardized the measures so they could be combined into a single weighted score for each metro. A metro received a proportional penalty if it ranked in the bottom half of the 100 metros in any of the four categories. The 15 metros with the highest final scores appear in the ranking.
The results compare the 100 metros studied. Bluevine account measures describe activity among Bluevine customers in those markets, rather than all small businesses there.
This story was produced by Bluevine and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
