San Diego has always been known for great weather, beautiful beaches and booming business. Now, thanks to a new report by GoodCall—a careers and personal finance website—San Diego can add “great city for Hispanic entrepreneurs” to its list of titles.
Why Hispanic Entrepreneurs Matter
Expansion might be slower for many U.S. companies, but it has been booming for minority-owned businesses. In fact, between 2007-12, U.S. companies grew by just 2 percent. During that same time frame, minority-owned businesses increased by 38 percent, and Hispanic business owners make up a significant portion of those figures. The reality is that even though there are 3.3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., that’s just 12 percent of the total, and so it’s vital to keep an eye on this emerging market.
The Ranking
To complete the ranking, GoodCall reviewed 400 metropolitan statistical areas. Within these regions, they examined the business climate (35 percent), economic health (25 percent), networking potential (20 percent), educational values (10 percent) and affordability (10 percent). They reviewed information such as the number of Hispanic businesses compared to others, the real gross domestic product growth, rate of Hispanic unemployment and the percent of Hispanics with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
The report notes, “the area holds strong educational values for Hispanics, substantial networking potential, a thriving post-recession economy, a high density of Hispanic business owners and access to affordable housing.”
The Results
In the end, Midland, Texas came out on top followed by Washington D.C. and Odessa, Texas. Other cities in the top ten included Texas cities Houston, Austin and Dallas, as well as Anchorage and Miami. While San Diego didn’t manage to crack the top ten, coming in at 28th overall, there are clear signs that the entrepreneur community is steadily developing.
The survey revealed that over 17 percent of San Diego’s 3.29 million person population is Hispanic and Hispanic businesses represent about 4.2 percent of businesses in the area. Where San Diego performed poorly was in the unemployment rate of Hispanics, reaching 7.4 percent compared to an average 5 percent or less. However, San Diego ranked well with .0889 small businesses per capita and, in total, San Diego received a 74.82/100 score.