In a recent survey of 12,632 small businesses nationwide, San Francisco-based Thumbtack.com recently released data showing Bridgeport earned a grade of F for its overall friendliness to small businesses, the worst grade in Connecticut and among the worst five cities in the nation for that metric.
Thumbtack teamed with the Missouri-based and education-themed nonprofit Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for the survey.
Other cities at the bottom for business friendliness included San Diego; Buffalo; Providence, R.I.; and Sacramento, Calif. The top cities were Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Houston; Austin, Texas; and Louisville.
The Thumbtack.com Small Business Friendliness Survey bills itself as the largest survey of its kind “and the only survey to obtain data from an extensive, nationwide sample of small business owners themselves to determine the most business-friendly locations.”
In a statement, Thumbtack said, “While there are various business climate rankings that rate locations as good or bad for business, there are no others that draw upon considerable data from small business owners themselves.”
The 82-city survey found Bridgeport at the bottom regarding business friendliness but found positive asterisks among female business owners and in the hiring process.
Jon Lieber, chief economist of Thumbtack.com, said, “Creating a business climate that is welcoming to small, dynamic businesses is more important than ever, and Bridgeport is falling far short of this goal.” The survey found a silver lining in the ease with which Bridgeport businesses are able to hire.
The findings included:
Bridgeport earned a grade of F for its overall friendliness to small business.
Bridgeport stood out for the ease of hiring new workers, earning an A+, one of the best grades in the country.
Bridgeport’s regulations earned an F grade from small businesses and it received F grades in four of six categories rated.
Female business owners in Bridgeport were some of the few in the country who felt more optimistic about the local economy than their male counterparts, reporting scores that were 15 percent higher on average.
The state of Connecticut earned a D in the survey for overall friendliness, and was rated in the bottom five nationwide.
