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The Top 10 U.S. Cities For Women-Owned Businesses

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The Growth of Women in Business

The Top 10 Cities For Women-Owned Businesses

Women are conquering the business world at a rapid pace, especially in areas such as small business and entrepreneurship.

The proof? In the last decade, the number of women-owned firms nationwide has grown by over 3.5 million, now representing 38% of all businesses in the United States.

Today’s map from HowMuch.net shows the top American cities where business is booming for women entrepreneurs.

Where are Women-Owned Businesses Growing Fastest?

Looking at the percentage growth in women-owned businesses tells us a lot about the way local economies have developed in the past decade.

Though women-owned firms in larger cities may have more absolute growth and revenue, a high growth rate shows the rapid emergence of a business community where there may have not been one before.

RankCityGrowth as PercentageAbsolute GrowthRevenue ($ Billion)
1Memphis122%47,7986.1
2Detroit121.4%140,00025.1
3Charlotte105.4%61,56813.3
4Miami94.7%220,00041.4
5Orlando83.5%72,93012.3
6Atlanta75.8%133,00036.9
7Dallas74.3%100,00047.0
8Houston70.4%107,00036.1
9Las Vegas69.8%44,34110.4
10Austin65.2%41,41310.3

Memphis’ women are leading the charge in the development of their city’s relatively small economy. Though the city is ranked only 45th in terms of revenue generation by women-owned firms, it’s adding new women-owned businesses at a very rapid pace.

The growth rate in Memphis of 122.2% between 2007-2016 leads the nation, making it one of only three cities (along with Charlotte and Detroit) where women-led business growth has more than doubled since 2007.

Absolute Growth Numbers

More metropolitan cities like New York or Los Angeles already have a bigger base of women entrepreneurs to start with, so their percentage growth is not high enough to show up on the aforementioned map.

However, it is worth looking at where the most women-owned businesses are being added (in absolute terms) as well:

RankCityAbsolute GrowthGrowth as PercentageRevenue ($ Billion)
1New York City271,00044.9%140.0
2Los Angeles225,00055.0%95
3Miami220,00094.7% 41.4
4Detroit140,000121.4% 25.1
5Atlanta133,00075.8% 36.9
6Houston107,00070.4%36.1
7Chicago105,50039.0%50.0
8Dallas100,00074.3% 47.0
9Riverside60,00062.8%19.9
10Washington, D.C.57,00032.6%37.1

Interestingly enough, certain cities appear on both lists, showing impressive growth both in relative and absolute terms.

Detroit and Miami are fairly unique in that they make the top five on both lists. Detroit grew its women-owned businesses by 121.4%, or 140,000 in absolute terms. Meanwhile, Miami grew at 94.7% to add 220,000 businesses since 2007.

Houston and Atlanta are two other cities that fare very well on both lists.

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Visualizing the Rise of the U.S. Dollar Since the 19th Century

This animated graphic shows the U.S. dollar, the world’s primary reserve currency, as a share of foreign reserves since 1900.

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Visualizing the Rise and Fall) of the U.S. Dollar

Visualizing the Rise of the U.S. Dollar Since the 19th Century

As the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. dollar made up 58.4% of foreign reserves held by central banks in 2022, falling near 25-year lows.

Today, emerging countries are slowly decoupling from the greenback, with foreign reserves shifting to currencies like the Chinese yuan.

At the same time, the steep appreciation of the U.S. dollar is leading countries to sell their U.S. foreign reserves to help prop up their currencies, in turn buying currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars to help generate higher yields.

The above animated graphic from James Eagle shows the rapid ascent of the U.S. dollar over the last century, and its gradual decline in recent years.

Dollar Dominance: A Brief History

In 1944, the U.S. dollar became the world’s reserve currency under the Bretton Woods Agreement. Over the first half of the century, the U.S. ran budget surpluses while increasing trade and economic ties with war-torn countries, expanding its influence as the world’s store of value.

Later through the 1960s, the U.S. dollar share of global foreign reserves rapidly increased as political allies stockpiled the dollar.

By 2000, dollar dominance hit a peak of 71% of global reserves. With the creation of the European Union a year earlier, countries such as China began increasing the share of euros in reserves. Between 2000 and 2005, the share of the dollar in China’s foreign exchange reserves fell by an estimated 15 percentage points.

The dollar began a long rally after the global financial crisis, which drove central banks to cut their dollar reserves to help bolster their currencies.

Fast-forward to today, and dollar reserves have fallen roughly 13 percentage points from their historical peak.

The State of the World’s Reserve Currency

In 2022, 16% of Russia’s export transactions were in yuan, up from almost nothing before the war. Brazil and Argentina have also begun adopting the Chinese currency for trade or reserve purposes. Still, the U.S. dollar makes up 80% of Brazil’s reserves.

Yet while the U.S. dollar has decreased in share of foreign reserves, it still has an immense influence in the world economy.

The majority of trade is invoiced in the U.S. dollar globally, a trend that has stayed fairly consistent over many decades. Between 1999-2019, 74% of trade in Asia was invoiced in dollars and in the Americas, it made up 96% of all invoicing.

Furthermore, almost 90% of foreign exchange transactions involve the U.S. dollar thanks to its liquidity.

However, countries are increasingly finding alternative options than the dollar. Today, Western businesses have begun settling trade with China in renminbi. Looking further ahead, digital currencies could provide options that don’t include the U.S. dollar.

Even more so, if the U.S. share of global GDP continues to shrink, the shift to a multipolar system could progress over this century.

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