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If you’re a Black entrepreneur and you don’t live in one of the following 10 cities, you may want to consider relocating. Blacktech Week used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to update its list from 2015 of cities where Black entrepreneurs thrive. The same cities made this new list that was previously published by NerdWallet, only they were ranked differently this time around, HuffPost reported.

The top ten cities, defined as areas with more than 100,000 residents, follow:

1. Memphis, Tennessee (previously ranked third): Memphis has the lowest unemployment rate of the top ten cities, a Black Business Association and a higher percentage of Black-owned businesses than Atlanta, the city commonly thought of as the best place for Black entrepreneurship.

2. Montgomery, Alabama: What’s boast-worthy about Montgomery is that it has “the highest percentage of black businesses nationwide,” according to HuffPost. Black business-owners there can also consult the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce and Montgomery’s Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Development Task Force for support.

3. Atlanta/ Sandy Springs/ Marietta Georgia (down from first place): The top city for Black businesses in 2015, still has the “highest number of businesses per 100 habitants,” an unemployment rate that has decreased from 6 percent to 4.5 percent and the Atlanta Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce.

4. Washington/Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia: The “urrea” touted the highest median income for Black residents nationwide, the highest growth rate of startups (measured by number of employees) over the last five years and the support of “National Black Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce and BizLaunch, an entrepreneurship program.”

5. Savannah, Georgia (up from sixth place): Savannah’s rich jazz legacy attracts tourism, which has bolstered much of the Black business ownership in the oceanside city.

6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana (up from seventh place): Baton Rouge’s petrochemical industry has driven much of its business, as it has the “4th largest refinery in the US and 10th largest in the world.”

7. Durham, North Carolina (down from fifth place): “Several accelerators, co-working spaces, and entrepreneurial convening places” boosted Durham’s thriving Black business community, which has contributed to the city’s significant decrease in unemployment (from 6.1 percent  to 3.8 percent).

8. Baltimore/ Towson, Maryland: Although the city took a financial hit with the loss of many manufacturing jobs, the survival of small businesses has increased in the last five years.

9. Miami/ Fort Lauderdale/ Pompano Beach, Florida (up from 10th place): The trifecta that keeps this metro area in the top ten included an increase in median annual income ($16,091 to $23,309), a decrease in the cost of living and a decrease in unemployment (5.7 percent  to 4.2 percent).

10. Richmond, Virginia (down from ninth place): With the “2nd highest average annual revenues for black-owned businesses,” Richmond’s history of Black entrepreneurship secured its inclusion on the updated list. position. “The Jackson Ward neighborhood is commonly referred as ‘the birthplace of Black capitalism’ and is considered the second ‘Black Wall Street,’ after the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” HuffPo wrote.

 

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Thriving While Black: The Top 10 Cities For Black Businesses In The U.S.  was originally published on newsone.com