In St. Louis, small business owners are raising wages faster than almost anywhere else in America—and it shows. From November 2023 to October 2025, businesses across the city boosted hourly pay by 13.48%, a figure that towers above the national average of 3.02%. That commitment to workers has earned St. Louis the top ranking in a sweeping analysis of where small enterprises are genuinely thriving, with an exemplary score of 96.43 out of 100.
The finding matters because small businesses are America's heartbeat. From neighborhood bakeries to boutique shops, they employ millions and shape local economies. Yet growth doesn't happen evenly. A study analyzing two years of payroll data from over 50 metro areas reveals stark regional differences in how small business owners are managing the delicate balance between hiring, stability, and fair wages—and which cities are winning.
Philadelphia ranks second with a score of 84.89, buoyed by job growth that outpaced surrounding counties and the broader metro region over the past five years. Small businesses there achieved a net hiring percentage of 0.25%, the fourth-highest in the nation. Jacksonville claims third place with a score of 79.87, having experienced its greatest surge in small business hiring in July 2025, when net hiring hit 5.1%—a vivid snapshot of local momentum building.
The picture of growth itself is mixed nationwide. Across the U.S., small businesses reported an average decline of -0.03% in net hiring during the sample period—essentially flat. Yet pockets of real expansion exist. San Jose leads in net hiring at 0.40%, with particularly robust summers: June 2024 saw 2.20% growth, and June 2025 matched it at 2.10%, suggesting a predictable seasonal pulse in the region's economy. Minneapolis-St. Paul follows closely at 0.38% average net hiring, experiencing its strongest month in August 2025 at 2.10% growth.
The flip side is equally telling. Memphis and Las Vegas reported the slowest hiring, with average net hiring percentages of -0.43% and -0.36% respectively. This data underscores a fundamental truth: economic momentum is not uniformly distributed.
What stands out most is the emphasis on pay. Across the country, small business employees earned an average hourly rate of $34.31, vastly exceeding the federal minimum wage of $7.25. That 4.7-fold difference illuminates how the private sector has moved ahead of legislated floors. St. Louis's 13.48% pay growth—more than four times the national average—reflects a deliberate strategy by business owners who recognize that retaining talent and supporting workers strengthens their enterprises.
Layoffs also reveal regional resilience. While the study doesn't itemize involuntary termination percentages by city, the focus on this metric alongside hiring and pay growth suggests that thriving small businesses are those managing headcount thoughtfully, avoiding the cyclical workforce churns that destabilize communities.
For entrepreneurs and policymakers alike, the data offers a roadmap. The cities leading the way—St. Louis, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, San Jose, and Minneapolis-St. Paul—share a common thread: they're combining measured hiring with genuine wage growth and workforce retention. As small business owners continue to navigate inflation, labor markets, and shifting customer demand, these metros demonstrate that growth, stability, and worker support aren't mutually exclusive. They're the markers of a thriving small business ecosystem.