Revised 9/1/11
· There are 645,534 registered businesses in Georgia (SOS: 9/1/11)
· 97.5% categorized as small by the Federal Gov't. (< 500 employees) compared to 99.7% nationally
· 95% employ fewer than 50
· 78.8% employ fewer than 10
· 87% employ 5 and under (AEO / US Census)
Georgia Rankings
· GA's economic outlook ranks 11th among 50 states (American Legislative Exchange Council 8/11)
· GA ranks 4th in US (up from #10) for Best State for Business: #2 in Transportation, #4 in Workforce, #13 in Access to Capital (CNBC 6/11)
· GA wins Silver Shovel Award for innovation in economic development (Area Development 6/11)
· GA ranks #5 in US for Best Business Climate (Site Selection 6/11)
· GA ranks #5 in US (up from #7) for Best State for Business (Chief Executive 5/11)
· GA ranks #12 in US for dollar value of exports ($28.7B) @ 20.8% increase from '09-'10 (GDEcD 5/11)
· GA ranks #18 (up from #21) for best Business Tax Index for Entrepreneurship & Small Business (SBE Council 4/11)
· GA ranks #1 in US for fastest growth of women-owned businesses (American Express OPEN 4/11)
· GA ranks 20th in US for Small Business Survival Index Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship (SBE Council 12/10)
· GA ranks #1 in US in Entrepreneurial Activity: 0.50% entrepreneurs per % of population (Kauffman/ITIF 11/10)
· GA ranks #5 best state for business: #1 in workforce development - #3 in labor - #1 in labor/workforce development - #3 in shovel-ready - #2 most attractive metro for business (Atlanta) (Area Development '10)
· GA ranks #2 workforce training leaders(Business Facilities '10)
· GA ranks #19 overall in the New Economy Index (Kauffman/ITIF 11/10)
· GA ranks #8 in US for best state for business, careers & regulatory environment (Forbes 10/10)
· GA leads the nation over the last decade for having the largest positive change in entrepreneurial activity. Atlanta/Marietta/Sandy Springs ranks 4th (Kauffman 8/10)
· GA ranks #2 in US for highest number of black-owned businesses at 20.4% (US Census 7/10);
· GA ranks 6th Best State for Business in US citing legislation that attracts businesses & jobs (Forbes 5/10)
· GA ranks in top 3 in US for number of franchisors (>100) headquartered in GA - (IFA 1/09)
Miscellaneous
· Metro Atlanta ranks in Top 10 in US for best regions for clean jobs (Brookings Institution 7/11)
· Atlanta ranks 5th among major cities in foreign direct investment (Global Atlanta 6/11)
· GA ranks 6th in US for most tax-friendly states for retirees (Kiplinger's 6/11)
· Atlanta ranks 48th out of 385 US metros with 25.3% of its population between ages 18-34 with bachelor's degree or higher (On Numbers 6/11)
· Metro Atlanta ranks #1 in US in minority-run firms; #2 in self-employed minorities; #2 as entrepreneurial region; #1 in increasing household incomes & affordable housing. Black-owned businesses grew 99% between '02-'07 (Forbes 3/11)
· Atlanta ranks #2 in US as most socially networked city behind Washington DC (Men's Health 3/11)
· Atlanta ranks #6 in US for jobs in 2010 (JobSerf Employment Index 1/11)
· Nine Metro Atlanta companies on Inc. 500's fastest growing companies (Inc. Magazine 8/10)
· Atlanta in Top 10 startup-friendly cities (Entrepreneur Magazine 8/10)
· Atlanta ranks 4th best city for college grads (Bloomberg BusinessWeek 7/10)
· 14 Fortune 500 companies and 32 Fortune 1000 companies are home to GA
· Atlanta ranks 9th best US city for young professionals (Forbes 6/10)
· Atlanta ranked 11th among the nation's top markets for quality of life in America (Portfolio.com/bizjournals 5/10)
· ATDC ranks in Top 10 in US for best technology incubators (Forbes 4/10)
· The top-performing 1% of firms in any given year generate roughly 40% of all new jobs; gazelle firms (ages 3-5 yrs.) comprise less than 1% of all companies yet generate roughly 10% of all new jobs (Kauffman 3/10)
· 14% of Inc. 500's fastest growing companies in the U.S. started with less than $1000
For additional information: http://www.georgia.org/BusinessInGeorgia/SmallBusiness/Pages/default.aspx