Wilmington did not break the top 10, but ended up a respectable 17th as one of the best small cities to start a business. The ranking was commissioned by Verizon.
Ranked first was Portland Maine, which has gained national attention for its quality of life.
Wilmington was the only city in the Mid-Atlantic to finish in the top 50.
Verizon used a host of factors in calculating the top 50 cities that included:
- Population between 50,000 and 75,000 people.
- College degrees.
- Travel time to work.
- Income per capita
- Broadband access. Verizon offers FiOS broadband and wireless mobile service. Much of the market in the Wilmington area has competition from Verizon FiOS and Comcast.
- Loans per capita. The ease of getting a loan.
- Delaware has a relatively high-income tax but has low property taxes and no sales tax.
The 17th position is good news for Wilmington which has sometimes finished low in business rankings.