If entrepreneurs want to enhance their chances of succeeding with a new restaurant, they should grab a map of Oklahoma City and start hunting for sites, according to a new study.
The report ranks the energy center as the best large city in the nation to launch a small business like a restaurant, largely because of the business environment. Oklahoma City scored high on such factors as job growth and the five-year survival rate of ventures.
Best large cities to open a small business
It also scored high on the subranking of cities by their business affordability.
Most and least expensive cities
Oklahoma City was one of the more populous cities to rank among the top 10 locations overall. Included were such remote municipalities as Sioux Falls, S.D. (third), Missoula, Mont. (fourth), Bismarck, N.D. (sixth), and Cheyenne, Wyo. (seventh). But No. 2 was Austin, Texas, the fourth largest city by population in the nation’s second largest state restaurant market.
The Best Large Cities to Start a Business ranking was compiled by WalletHub, a website that provides users with credit scores and credit reports. The list was based on a variety of criteria, from real estate costs to the availability of labor, access to capital and historic revenue growth.
It found that the five worst cities in which to open a restaurant or other small business, based purely on labor costs, included three urban areas of California: San Jose, Irvine and Fremont. The absolute worst, the study indicated, is Pearl City, Hawaii.
Columbia, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., ranked fourth.
Labor rates are lowest in Detroit; Cleveland; Hialeah, Fla.; Huntington, W.Va.; and Miami, according to the report.
Detroit had the highest availability of what the study called human capital, while Charleston, S.C., had the lowest.
WalletHub has also compiled rankings of the best and worst small cities in which to open a restaurant or other small business.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
Multimedia
Exclusive Content
Key takeaways from the recent round of restaurant company earnings
The Bottom Line: Full-service restaurant chains are winning, slightly, in a weak overall market. Brands are rethinking unit count, focusing on service and pushing a lot of value.
Gavin Kaysen's restaurant group is preparing to double in size in four weeks
A godfather of the Minneapolis dining scene, Kaysen says his restaurants are busier than ever. Consumers may be pulling back, but they're still looking for an experience.
Here come the take-private deals
The Bottom Line: Denny’s and Potbelly have both been taken private. Noodles & Company and Pizza Hut are on the market. And rumors are constantly flying about Papa Johns.