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The 21 big US cities where it pays most to be an entrepreneur

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  • If you want to start your own business, you may want to move to one of these cities.
  • ZenBusiness compared income for entrepreneurs to earnings for other full-time employees by metro area to rank the cities where entrepreneurs are most successful.
  • San Diego, Chicago, and San Antonio were among the cities on the list. 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If you are looking to start a new business endeavor, you may want to start your own company in one of these major cities.

ZenBusiness, a service that helps entrepreneurs grow their own businesses, created a ranking of the most successful metros for entrepreneurs based on the income premium for self-employed workers in 2018.

The income premium is the percent difference between the median income of entrepreneurs, who were defined as self-employed in the study, and all full-time employees using the Census Bureau's American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample.

For example, the 2018 income premium for entrepreneurs in Las Vegas was 19.0%. That is, a typical entrepreneur in that city earns about $8,000 more than the median income of $42,000 of all full-time employees in Las Vegas. 

The median salary for entrepreneurs in the 53 large metros on ZenBusiness' list is about $53,000, roughly the same as the overall US median annual income in 2018 of about $52,000.

The highest income earned by entrepreneurs is in San Jose, California, where people who own their own business make a median income of $70,000.

Entrepreneurs in Salt Lake City, Utah, make the most compared to all other full-time employees in the city, making it a potentially desirable metro area for aspiring business owners. A typical entrepreneur in Salt Lake City earns about $60,000, while a typical full-time employee earns $48,200, a difference of 24.5%.

The following are the 21 US cities with a population size of over 1,000,000 residents where entrepreneurs are most successful, along with their income premium, median 2018 income, and share of entrepreneurs — the percentage of workers that identify as self-employed.

SEE ALSO: The 15 fastest-growing cities in the world

21. Phoenix, Arizona

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.5%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $49,100

Median income for full-time workers: $46,100

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.9%



20. New Orleans, Louisiana

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.7%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000

Median income for full-time workers: $45,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.3%



19. Minneapolis, Minnesota

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 6.8%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $56,200

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.5%



18. Richmond, Virginia

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $53,500

Median income for full-time workers: $50,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.1%



17. Jacksonville, Florida

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,500

Median income for full-time workers: $45,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.5%



16. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $49,600

Median income for full-time workers: $46,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.4%



15. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 7.8%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $55,000

Median income for full-time workers: $51,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.8%



14. San Diego, California

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 8.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $57,000

Median income for full-time workers: $52,800

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.0%



13. Portland, Oregon

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 9.1%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $55,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 11.4%



12. Chicago, Illinois

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 9.1%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $55,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.6%



11. Cincinnati, Ohio

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 10.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $55,000

Median income for full-time workers: $50,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.0%



10. Austin, Texas

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 11.1%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $54,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 10.7%



9. Birmingham, Alabama

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 12.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $56,000

Median income for full-time workers: $50,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.9%



8. Providence, Rhode Island

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 13.2%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $53,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 7.6%



7. Orlando, Florida

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 13.7%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $45,500

Median income for full-time workers: $40,030

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.6%



6. San Antonio, Texas

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 14.3%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000

Median income for full-time workers: $42,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.8%



5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 14.3%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $48,000

Median income for full-time workers: $42,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.6%



4. Memphis, Tennessee

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 16.3%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $50,000

Median income for full-time workers: $43,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 6.7%



3. Las Vegas, Nevada

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 19.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $50,000

Median income for full-time workers: $42,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 9.1%



2. Denver, Colorado

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 20.0%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $66,000

Median income for full-time workers: $55,000

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 10.2%



1. Salt Lake City, Utah

Income premium for entrepreneurs: 24.5%

Median income for entrepreneurs: $60,000

Median income for full-time workers: $48,200

Share of self-employed workers in workforce: 8.9%



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