Colorado Springs Ranked Fourth Most Business-Friendly U.S. City
Building on a year of national kudos, Colorado Springs was recently ranked the nation’s fourth most business friendly city according to Thumbtack’s 2018 Small Business Friendliness Survey. The survey ranked 57 cities and 7,500 small business owners based on eight factors, including licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations.
Small business owners gave Colorado Springs an “A+” this year, ranking fourth of 57 cities. Overall, evaluations were seven percent better than last year, when Colorado Springs received a “B”. As a comparison, Colorado Springs scored higher than Denver (“C-“); Austin, Texas (“B+”); Portland, Ore. (“C+”); and Seattle (“C-“).
Colorado Springs was the top-ranked city for training and networking programs and ranked ninth in licensing regulations. The city received “A” grades in employment, labor and hiring regulations and licensing regulations. It received an “A-” rating in tax regulations.
The ranking comes on the heels of a number of top rankings for the city. Among them:
- #1 Most Desirable Place to Live in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report, 2018)
- #1 Fastest Growing City for Millennials (Brookings Institution, 2018)
- #2 Best Place to Live in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report, 2018)
- #1 Hottest Housing Market (Marketwatch, 2017)
- #1 Where U.S. Homebuyers are Headed Next (Bloomberg, 2017)