Richmond ranks third in survey of business-friendly cities

Richmond ranked third in the nation in a survey on the friendliest cities for small businesses.

The survey, by the consumer services website Thumbtack, ranked 95 U.S. cities on 11 metrics, including ease of starting a business, tax codes, and training and network programs.

Nearly 18,000 small businesses across the U.S. were surveyed to determine the rankings.

The survey described Richmond as “a city on the rise. It has seen an exponential rise in confidence for job creation and training programs since 2013 and shows few signs of slowing down.”

The city’s best rankings in the 11 categories were: health and safety: No. 1; ease of hiring: No. 2; and training and networking: No. 4. Richmond’s biggest weakness was zoning where it ranked No. 19.

Manchester, N.H., was the top city in the survey, coming in first on  licensing and regulations and second on easing of starting a business and business-friendly tax codes. The city was 28th, however, in training and networking.

The other cities in the top 10 were: Dallas, No. 2; Austin, Texas, No. 4; Knoxville, Tenn., No. 5; Nashville, Tenn., No. 6; Houston, No. 7; Fort Collins, Colo., No. 8; Boulder, Colo., No. 9; and San Antonio, No. 10.