UNDATED - Two cities in our region cracked the top 20 in Georgia for best places to start a business, according to a consumer finance website.
NerdWallet looked at 126 cities in Georgia, each with a population of at least 5,000. The analysis calculated the overall score for each place based on the city’s business climate and economic health using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For business climate, the website looked at average revenue, percentage of businesses with paid employees and the number of businesses per 100 people.
To determine economic health, NerdWallet examined median annual income, median annual housing costs and the unemployment rate.
When all was said and done, the cities of Cumming and Gainesville stood out in our area, according to NerdWallet. Cumming ranked number 6, according to NerdWallet analyst Jon Todd.
"Well, Cumming actually has 95.4 businesses per 100 people, which is by far the highest number in the state. To be fair, only about 21 percent of those businesses have paid employees," Todd said.
Being one the smaller cities on the list, Cumming has almost as many businesses as it does people, 5251 businesses and 5504 residents, NerdWallet analysts noted.
Gainesville ranked number 19 on the site's list. Todd said Gainesville's high proportion of businesses with paid employees and average number of businesses were key factors.
"Combine that with the fact that Gainesville has a below average housing cost and an unemployment rate that's about a point and a half below the statewide average, and that tells you that it's a really good place for entrepreneurs to target to maybe open a business," Todd said.
For the curious, NerdWallet ranked Alpharetta, Doraville and Vinings, in that order, as the top three places in the state to start a business.
| Rank | City |
| 37 | Buford |
| 38 | Suwanee |
| 56 | Commerce |
| 90 | Winder |
| 91 | Toccoa |
| 109 | Jefferson |
| 114 | Sugar Hill |
| 119 | Auburn |
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/6/316047/two-north-georgia-cities-among-best-places-in-georgia-to-start-business