Southern cities best for entrepreneurs

May 2024 - If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur looking to relocate, it’s likely that the San Francisco Bay Area and New York are the first two destinations that come to mind. However, according to new data from SpareRoom, southern cities are more likely to be home to budding business owners. In fact, three of the top five cities for renters most interested in entrepreneurship are in Florida, while Atlanta, GA, takes first place.

SpareRoom, the number one roommate finder, analyzed data from over 47,000 roommates, based on what they listed as their interests in their profiles. We then ranked the cities where you’d be most likely to find like-minded business and entrepreneurial roommates.

The top cities for entrepreneurial roommates are:

San Francisco and New York are notoriously two of the most expensive cities to rent in, with roommates paying an average of $1,263 and $1,489, respectively. So it isn’t surprising that entrepreneurs are choosing the South, where rent is considerably cheaper with four out of the five top cities having average rents under $1000* - Atlanta ($871), Dallas ($819), Orlando ($933), Tampa ($966).

Matt Hutchinson, spokesperson for SpareRoom, comments: “When you’re starting a new venture, keeping your costs down is important, so it’s not surprising that people are heading for more affordable cities. The cheapest city in the top 5 saves, on average, $670 a month compared to New York. That adds up to over $8,000 a year, which could come in incredibly useful for getting your venture up and running as quickly as possible.

It’s not just about the money though. People often move cities to further their career opportunities, but living with people who have similar aspirations can be just as, if not more, influential! Your new roommates could be your next networking connection or even future business partners.”

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Notes to editors

*Average roommate rents, Q1 2024↩