The Jackson Free Press has just learned that Fortune Small Business has named Jackson a "best place to launch" a small business. Jackson ranks 11th on the magazine's list of mid-size American cities, which it released online today. JFP reporter Ward Schaefer contributed the profile of Jackson and local entrepreneur Devereaux Galloway, CEO and founder of Solar Power of Mississippi.
"There is a lot of interest in what we're doing on a local level. People in the city, especially homeowners, are eager to do business with us," Galloway says in the piece.
The rankings are based on a number of statistics, including per capita income, crime rates, average hourly wage and the percentage of population with a bachelor's degree. According to the Tax Foundation's 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index, Mississippi ranks 19th in the nation for its tax structure. Other Southeastern cities making the list include Huntsville, Ala. (No. 1), Lafayette, La. (No. 2), and Baton Rouge, La. (No. 9).
Fortune Small Business looked at a number of factors to rank cities for this list, detailed on the How We Picked the Best Places to Launch page:
"[W]e developed a methodology and sifted through data on factors such as per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, crime rates, taxes and foreclosures.
"We also looked at population size. While some entrepreneurs prefer to locate near major cities, others opt for the intellectual spark and intimacy of college towns and other small, close-knit communities. One size doesn't fit all, so our list is divided into three tiers: small, midsize and large metro areas.
"Then we turned reporters loose on the top places. Over the course of several months, we spoke with hundreds of entrepreneurs and economic development officials about the pros and cons of metro areas throughout the U.S. Using those findings, we adjusted our rankings and picked this year's winning places."
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