Richland Rated #2 Small City in the U.S. to Start a Small Business

Is Richland a good place to start a business? Let me tell you a quick story…

Last summer, we helped clients relocate to the Tri-Cities from out of state. Not unusual, we do that several times every year. But these clients were moving here specifically for the sake of starting a small business. They’d done research and determined that Richland was the right place to open Pedego Electric Bikes!

So I can’t say it’s surprising to learn that Verizon recently named Richland the second-best small city in the entire U.S. to start a small business. (That link no longer works, but you can see the original page on the Internet Archive.)

In their writeup about the city, Verizon says:

This year Richland, WA joined our list as the second-best small city for small business. While it is a small city, it’s packed year-round with fun outdoor activities, music festivals, and cultural showcases. Roughly 25% of Richland residents hold a bachelor’s degree, and earn 4% more than the average income. Their broadband access is also 4% higher than average. Richland is a young city, with a dense suburban feel making it one of the best places to live in Washington.

The rankings are based on a mix of demographic and business-specific data points, including percent of residents with a bachelor’s degree or better, commute time, income per capita, loans per business, tax score, and more.

Richland scored a 72, just one point behind first-place Logan, Utah.

But these rankings didn’t just single out Richland. Pasco finished at #17 overall with a score of 66.

This is the fifth year Verizon has put together this research. And hopefully not the last time the Tri-Cities will be representing so well!