Best Cities to Start a Business in North Carolina

North Carolina is widely considered one of the hottest states to start a business for a variety of factors. A high business survival rate (among the top ten in the nation), low cost of living, and blossoming urban centers led to Forbes Magazine naming it the second-best state for business in the United States.

Additionally, Duke University (located in Durham, NC) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provide the state’s workforce with a steady stream of bright young talent.

Entrepreneurs are migrating to North Carolina for its favorable business climate, abundant natural beauty, and rich cultural tradition. Miles of lovely coastline and breathtaking mountain ranges located in the state’s western portion provide ample opportunity for one to take a break from work while its cities have birthed and remained home to practitioners of a diverse array of musical styles, from jazz to folk and even EDM.

Only cities with over 50,000 inhabitants are reported in the results. Some data had to be interpolated to the county level and extrapolated to all the cities in the county. We concentrated on the following metrics to obtain our ranking: Cost of living, Best state for business, Unemployment, Kauffman index, and Universities.