To find the metropolitan areas with the most female business owners, researchers at Self Financial analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The researchers ranked metro areas according to the percentage of business owners who are female. Researchers also calculated the total number of female business owners, the total number of female business owners for both incorporated and unincorporated firms, and the most active industry for female business owners.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis. Additionally, metro areas were grouped into cohorts based on population size where small metros have between 100,000 and 349,999 residents, midsize metros have between 350,000 and 999,999 residents, and large metros have at least 1,000,000 residents.
The analysis found that there are 13,316 female business owners in the Asheville metro area, which amounts to 43.4% of all business owners there. Out of all midsize U.S. metropolitan areas, Asheville reports the 9th highest percentage of female business owners. Here is a summary of the data for the Asheville, NC metro area:
- Percentage of business owners who are female: 43.4%
- Total number of female business owners: 13,316
- Total number of female business owners (incorporated firms): 4,468
- Total number of female business owners (unincorporated firms): 8,848
- Most active industry for female business owners: Other Services, Except Public Administration
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
- Percentage of business owners who are female: 38.4%
- Total number of female business owners: 5,885,105
- Total number of female business owners (incorporated firms): 1,900,931
- Total number of female business owners (unincorporated firms): 3,984,174
- Most active industry for female business owners: Professional, Scientific, and Management, and -Administrative, and Waste Management Services
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Self Financial’s website at www.self.inc/blog/cities-with-most-female-business-owners.