Raleigh-Cary just cracked the nation's top four for small business growth, ranking behind only Miami, Austin, and Washington, DC—and the data reveals why this North Carolina metro is becoming a magnet for entrepreneurs.
The Triangle's rise matters because small business is the backbone of American economic vitality, and the conditions that fuel entrepreneurship are increasingly concentrated in a handful of places. Raleigh-Cary has become one of them. According to a CoworkingCafe study released this week, the metro's ranking was driven by three converging forces: explosive economic growth, a deep well of tech talent, and a business environment shaped by more than a decade of state-level reform.
The numbers paint a picture of momentum. From 2019 to 2023, the local economy grew 39 percent. The region boasts more than 11,000 small businesses per 100,000 residents, with those firms accounting for 47 percent of total employment—a significant concentration. In 2024, new business applications hit roughly 1,900 per 100,000 residents, among the highest rates of any metro in the top five. And the coworking market is thriving: 6.3 flex workspaces per 100,000 residents at an average of roughly $263 per month, giving entrepreneurs flexible, affordable places to work.
The tech workforce is the secret weapon. According to CBRE's most recent Scoring Tech Talent report, the Raleigh-Durham tech workforce has grown to 76,570 workers—a 15.4 percent increase from 2021 to 2024, adding more than 10,000 professionals in just three years. Tech talent now accounts for 7.2 percent of total employment in the region, with an average annual wage of $122,435. Nearly 45 percent of the tech workforce is employed in the technology industry itself, and more than half of software engineers work for tech firms, suggesting a self-reinforcing ecosystem of innovation and opportunity.
Brian Balfour, senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, credits what he calls "a welcoming fiscal climate." Tax reforms beginning in 2013 transformed North Carolina from one of the worst business tax climates in the nation to one of the best, and CNBC has ranked the state the top for business three of the last four years. "This high ranking comes as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to Raleigh's rapid growth over the past several years," Balfour said.
But success brings its own pressures. Steven W. Pedigo, a professor of practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, explained what separates thriving entrepreneurial metros from the rest: "They are the places where entrepreneurs can operate, connect, hire, find customers, and build a life. That is the modern small business equation, and it's about talent, quality of place, flexible space, social capital, market demand and a public sector that gets the basics right."
The South dominated the large-metro tier overall, claiming four of the top five spots, with Durham also earning recognition in the mid-sized metro segment for its university-anchored talent pipeline. Yet Balfour offered a cautionary note: "With such rapid growth comes challenges. Raleigh's infrastructure and rapid rise in housing prices will require continued attention to continue to make it an attractive place to work and live." For now, though, the momentum is undeniable—and the opportunity very real.