Best Cities to Start a Business in Arizona

Arizona has emerged as a hotbed of tech industry activity. While health care and transportation are still the top sectors of the economy, more and more money is being invested in internet business with each year.

In 2016, VC firms invested over $220 million in Arizonan tech companies, a 38% increase over the previous year and a higher amount than any other state industry. Deals are being made, and it’s easy to see why: tech industry professionals feeling suffocated by San Francisco’s untenable rent prices and merciless competition for seed money are relocating to Phoenix as a low-cost, not-too-distant alternative.

On a whole, wages, taxes, and energy are 25% cheaper in Phoenix than in San Francisco. Tech entrepreneurs and entry-level professionals don’t have to worry about making rent or looming mortgage payments. Instead, they can put money away towards a new electric car or an exciting vacation.

Not all internet professionals based in Arizona are California transplants, though, as the state’s top universities, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, are breeding grounds for young entrepreneurs. In short, Arizona is a very attractive destination for those looking to get ahead in the tech industry.

Only cities with over 50,000 inhabitants are reported in the results. Some data had to be interpolated to the county level and extrapolated to all the cities in the county. We concentrated on the following metrics to obtain our ranking: Cost of living, Best state for business, Unemployment, Kauffman index, and Universities.