Raleigh, Austin And Milwaukee take the top spots by making significant progress compared to last year.
TYSONS, Virginia., October 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the PenFed Foundation, a national 501(c)(3) organization founded by PenFed Credit Union, announced the results of its annual study of America’s top cities for seasoned entrepreneurs. The PenFed Foundation Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program (VEIP), which supports startups and veteran-owned businesses through education, preparation and network access, conducted the study in partnership with Edelman Intelligence.
According to the 2023 study, Raleigh, Austin And Milwaukee has made significant improvements to become the best cities for veterans to start their businesses. Top emerging cities, or those that have made the most progress since the PenFed Foundation’s 2022 study, include Fayetteville, Arkansas (+37), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (+19), Raleigh, North Carolina (+8), and Madison, Wisconsin (+8). The study analyzed four main categories for each city, including livability, economic growth, support for veterans and ability to start a business. This year’s edition places less emphasis on COVID-related factors and places more emphasis on livability and economic factors. The full results of the study can be viewed here.
“The resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the military community is invaluable to our nation’s business sector. That’s why the PenFed Foundation is proud to commission this study for the fourth year in a row, highlighting cities that are making strides to support seasoned businesses,” said the PenFed Foundation. President Andrea McCarren. “We want to help cities across the United States understand which environments are best suited for military veterans to start and grow businesses and inspire city leaders to take the necessary steps to support veteran entrepreneurs.
“Veteran-owned businesses often hire more veterans, so supporting veteran entrepreneurs provides more jobs and opportunities for the military community as a whole, which has been PenFed’s primary area of membership since 1935” , said PenFed Credit Union President and CEO of the PenFed Foundation. James Schenck.
The top 20 cities for seasoned entrepreneurs (changes since 2022 report) include:
- Raleigh (+8)
- Austin – round rock (+4)
- Milwaukee – Waukesha – Allis West (+19)
- Seattle – Tacoma – Nice view (-1)
- Madison (+8)
- Cleveland – Elyria (+2)
- Fast city (+2)
- Fayetteville – Springdale – Rogers (+37)
- Kansas City (+5)
- new York – Newark – Jersey City (-8)
- Washington – Arlington – Alexandria (-ten)
- Cincinnati (+6)
- Tampa – Saint PETERSBOURG – Clear water (-1)
- Houston – Woods – Sugar country (-9)
- McAllen – Edinburgh – Assignment (+5)
- Sioux Falls (-9)
- Atlanta – Sand sources – Roswell (+5)
- Columbus (-1)
- San Antonio – New Braunfels (+4)
- Chicago – Naperville – Elgin (-4)
To paint a comprehensive picture of veteran support, city characteristics, and entrepreneurial capacity in the United States, the study used a custom scoring algorithm based on a robust set of quantitative data from existing PenFed partners and freely available data sources. 390 metropolitan statistical areas were assessed.
Since 2018, PenFed Foundation VEIP has accelerated more than 70 veteran-owned startups and advised more than 1,000 veteran-owned small businesses.
To learn more about the PenFed Foundation’s work with seasoned entrepreneurs or to donate to the Foundation, please visit www.penfedfoundation.org.
About the PenFed Foundation
Founded in 2001, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that supports veterans in their transition from service to success. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has provided more than $55 million in financial support to veterans, active duty military and military families. The credit union funds Foundation staff and most operational costs, allowing 99% of incoming donations to go directly to our programs. To learn more, please visit www.penfedfoundation.org.
PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA.
SOURCE PenFed Foundation