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Personal Finance Reports

Best 100 Towns in New York For Small Businesses

Published May 30, 2017
4-min read
Mike Brown Author Photo
Written by Mike Brown
Mike Brown Author Photo
Written by Mike Brown

Expertise:

Mike Brown uses data from surveys and publicly-available resources to identify emerging personal finance trends and tell unique stories. Mike’s work, featured in outlets like the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, provides consumers with a personal finance measuring stick to make informed financial decisions.

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While going to a mega store like Walmart, Costco, or Target can be easy, cheap, and convenient, there is nothing like a mom and pop shop.

Who does not like to support the local businesses in their community?

People like small businesses because their products are handled with a little more TLC, they are usually experts in a very concentrated niche, and your business matters to them.

In honor of small businesses and the communities that support them, LendEDU has created a report that recognizes the 100 best towns in the state of New York for small businesses.

Our list used licensed data to evaluate over 1,200 New York communities according to parameters that are critical to the mom and pop shops.

The following three weighted parameters were used to judge each New York neighborhood:

  1. Population Score (20%, listed in table as Population)
  2. Income Score (40%, listed in table as Income)
  3. Expenses Score (40%, listed in table as Expenses)

All three parameters had a few sub-metrics that were used to give each parameter a total score. Each New York town’s three parameter total scores were summed together for the final score. This (and the sub-metrics) are explained in more detail in the methodology below.

With number one being the best for small businesses, the 100 New York communities featured below have been deemed most conducive to small businesses according to LendEDU. These places give owners the best chance to succeed without having to take on many small business loans and they are also places with great potential business growth for the future.

Complete Rankings of the Best 100 Towns in New York for Small Businesses

Methodology

All data used in this study is under license from Onboard Informatics. Onboard Informatics dataset was used for a variety of data points, including the most recent population figures. For this particular study, a population cutoff was established at 4,500. Any New York town that had a population below 4,500 was eliminated from further analysis. In total, over 1,200 New York communities were evaluated for their conduciveness towards small businesses.

The following three parameters and their respective sub-metrics were used to evaluate each New York town:

  1. Population Score (20% weight, Maximum Point Total – 20 points)
  • Daytime Population Score – The difference in the normal population and the population that is present during standard working day hours (Weight – 10%, Maximum Point Total – 10 points)
  • Population Growth Score – Forecasted population growth over the next five years (Weight – 10%, Maximum Point Total – 10 points)

2. Income Score (40% weight, Maximum Point Total – 40 points)

  • Disposable Income Score – The average disposable income available to residents (Weight – 20%, Maximum Point Total – 20 points)
  • Income Growth Score – Forecasted income growth over the next five years (Weight – 20%, Maximum Point Total – 20 points)

3. Expenses Score (40% weight, Maximum Point Total – 40 points)

  • Property Tax Score – Property tax rates (Weight – 8%, Maximum Point Total – 8 points)
  • Sales Tax Score – Sales tax rate (Weight – 8%, Maximum Point Total – 8 points)
  • Utilities Score – Average cost of utilities (Weight – 8%, Maximum Point Total – 8 points)
  • Burglary Score – Rate of burglaries compared to the national average (Weight – 8%, Maximum Point Total – 8 points)
  • Property Crime Score – Rate of property crimes compared to national average (Weight – 8%, Maximum Point Total – 8 points)

For every sub-metric category, each town’s score in that sub-metric category was ranked against all the other respective town’s sub-metric scores in the same category on a percent scale from 0 to 100. Each individual percent rank was multiplied by its weight to produce the point total. Each town’s point totals for the sub-metrics in a specific parameter were summed together to get the total parameter score. All three total parameter scores were summed together to get the final score. Towns with a greater final score were ranked higher on the list and vice versa. 

See more of LendEDU’s Research