Worcester Ranks as One of Worst Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs in U.S.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

A new study released Wednesday morning finds that Worcester is one of the worst cities in America for Hispanic entrepreneurs — the city ranks 148th out of 150 cities in the United States.

Worcester scores poorly in each of the measures in the study “Hispanic Business Friendliness” (Worcester ranks 133rd), “Hispanic Purchasing Power” (Ranks 150th) and "Lowest Median annual Income of Hispanics" (Ranks 148th).

“U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Javier Palomarez once described Hispanic entrepreneurs as ‘America’s business future.’ Not only is the Hispanic and Latino community expected to make up a third of the entire U.S. population by 2050, but this demographic is also creating businesses at 15 times the national rate today, according to a report from analytics firm Geoscape and the USHCC,” said the report from WalletHub.

Since 2012, the more than four million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. have driven an extra $144 billion in combined yearly revenue, bumping 2015’s total to $661 billion.

SEE METHODOLOGY BELOW

Source: WalletHub

Methodology

In order to determine the best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, namely “Hispanic Business-Friendliness” and “Hispanic Purchasing Power.” With regard to our sample, please note that “city” refers to city proper and excludes surrounding metro areas.

First, WalletHub identified 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was given a value between 0 and 100, wherein 100 represents the most favorable conditions for Hispanic businesses and 0 the least. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available only at the state level.

Finally, the study calculated the overall score for each city using the weighted average across all metrics and ranked the cities accordingly.

Hispanic Business-Friendliness – Total Points: 60

Share of Hispanic-Owned Businesses: Double Weight (~9.23 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of Hispanic-owned firms adjusted for the Hispanic population.
Hispanic Entrepreneurship Rate: Double Weight (~9.23 Points)
Business-Friendliness Score: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
Entrepreneurial Activity Index: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
Industry Variety: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
5-Year Survival Rate: Full* Weight (~4.62Points)
Significant Startups per Capita: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
Note: This metric measures the 5- to 15-year survival rate of startups with at least five employees.
Small Business Loans per Total Number of Small Businesses: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
Average Monthly Rent for Office Space: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
Corporate Tax Rank: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
Length of Average Workday: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)

Hispanic Purchasing Power – Total Points: 40

Affordability: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the median annual income of Hispanics by the cost of living index.
Income Growth for Hispanics: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Housing Affordability for Hispanics: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the median annual income of Hispanics by the median house price.
Hispanic Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Percentage of Hispanic Residents: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Hispanic Population Growth: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
Percentage of Hispanics with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)

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