Study: St. Louis, Springfield, KC earn high marks for cities to startup
May 2, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Though still performing well on a national level, Kansas City, Mo., was recently rated as the third-best large city in Missouri for founders to start a business, according to a recent study.
Personal finance website WalletHub found that St. Louis and Springfield are the No. 7 and No. 11 best large cities to start a business in the U.S., respectively, surpassing Kansas City’s rank of No. 32.
WalletHub ranked 150 large cities by evaluating their performance across 18 differently-weighted metrics, ranging from business survival rate and office-space affordability to labor costs and access to resources. To learn more on the study’s methodology, click here.
St. Louis earned a high ranking thanks to its access to resources and low business costs, including low labor costs, office-space affordability, cost of living and corporate taxes. Springfield snagged a No. 1 national ranking for low business costs, which appears to have fueled its top-15 ranking.
Kansas City earned its ranking for relatively low business costs and business environment, which was calculated by startups per capita, five-year survival rate entrepreneurship index and more.
Kansas City’s dropped from its 2016 ranking in the study, in which it earned a No. 16 spot, while St. Louis ranked as the No. 5 city and Springfield earned No. 8.
Across the state line into Kansas, Wichita earned a No. 103 ranking and Overland Park nabbed a No. 122 rating.
Overall, Oklahoma City was ranked the top large city to start a business, followed by Salt Lake City and Charlotte. To see the complete ranking, click here.

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Never settle’: He started small, now Drue Stewart is bringing TikTok-famous food to former Westport Ale House
‘Bigger, better, crazier; Never settle; The building had a dark cloud but we are going to bring new life to it’ Less than a year after opening Holy Brunch KC in Westport — and one small expansion — Drue Stewart is making an enormous leap. He’ll go from 2,000-square-feet on one floor, to a 16,000-square-foot…
Great Jobs KC leaps closer to its $100M goal with massive grant to support adult financial stability
A just-announced $60 million investment by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation marks a significant step in a Kansas City-based nonprofit’s plans to support 50,000 adults on their journeys toward financial stability, said Earl Martin Phalen. The grant to Great Jobs KC serves three priorities outlined within the Kauffman Foundation’s new grantmaking strategy: college access and…
Teens tackle universal pain points: Junior Achievement competition pushes students to pitch biz ideas
A new student innovation competition linked to Junior Achievement not only challenges Kansas City teens to develop business solutions for immediate real-world problems, said Will Bowler; fostering entrepreneurial thinking develops longer-term impacts. “This program empowers them,” said Bowler, a teacher at Olathe East High School, as students wrapped up Tuesday’s 3DE Innovators Showcase at the…
Trio of early stage Kansas City startups tapped to join K-State Accelerator focused on boosting Kansas economy
MANHATTAN, Kansas — Seven startups are expected to begin work this month within the K-State Accelerator, earning funds, training and resources to turn their concepts into successful Sunflower State ventures. Three of the selected companies hail from the Kansas City area, including dScribe AI; 4D Leaders; and Rebound Jerseys. The eight-week, virtual Center for Entrepreneurship…
