Alpharetta named best city to start business in Georgia

Metro Atlanta

Alpharetta named best city to start business in Georgia

With low tax rates and a variety of support services, it’s no surprise that Georgia is the ideal state for business owners. Through the lens of business climate and economic health, NerdWallet recently analyzed the state’s business landscape to determine the best places to start a business. Here are the top 10 cities, according to the study.

1. Home to Avalon, the popular live-work-play complex, Alpharetta tops the list with roughly 9,000 businesses averaging nearly $7 million in revenue annually.

2. With convenient access to MARTA and major highways, Doraville has more than 1,500 businesses averaging $5,361,780 each year. Plans are underway to transform the city's shuttered General Motors plant into a business and residential district.

3. With more than 1,700 businesses, including the Home Depot headquarters, Vinings businesses generate an average of $2,673,129 in revenue each year. The area is just minutes from Atlanta, and home to the popular shopping destination Vinings Jubilee.

4. Garden City is home to the Georgia Ports Authority and one of the busiest container ports in the country. The city has more than 1,000 businesses averaging $2,160,257 in revenue annually.

5. Known as the "Carpet Capital of the World," Dalton has almost 3,500 businesses averaging $3,277,773 in annual revenue -- among the highest of the cities in the study.

6. Cumming, which has nearly as many businesses as residents, boasts a Small Business Services Center, which provides guidance for local business owners. The city's businesses average $514,252 each year.

7. Norcross is home to than 4,000 businesses generating an average of $2,038,801 annually. The city's business community benefits from SCORE Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that mentors existing and aspiring business owners.

8. Jesup, heralded as an “Entrepreneur Friendly Community” by the state of Georgia, has 716 businesses averaging $936,828 in revenue each year.

9. Carrollton has more than 2,500 businesses averaging $3,603,631 annually. The city's Small Business Development Center at the University of West Georgia provides free resources to local companies.

10. With CSX Rice Yard as one of the city's largest employers, transportation is a big driver of Waycross economy. The city has more than 1,000 businesses averaging $1,415,009 annually.

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With low tax rates and a variety of support services, it’s no surprise that Georgia is the ideal state for business owners. Through the lens of business climate and economic health, NerdWallet recently analyzed the state’s business landscape to determine the best places to start a business. Here are the top 10 cities, according to the study.

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