Florida is a melting pot of cultures and for many it is an opportunity to seek a better life.
It is no secret that the Hispanic and Latino community’s contributions to the U.S. economy have been nothing short of impactful.
In fact, a 2022 study found that U.S. Latino economic output would rank 5th in the world’s gross domestic product if U.S. Latinos were an independent country.
Not only is this demographic expected to make up nearly 30% of the U.S. population by 2060, according to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, but nearly one in four new businesses is Hispanic-owned.
With this in mind, a WalletHub study found that not one, not two, but eight Florida cities ranked among the top 10 best locations for Hispanic entrepreneurs.
WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 24 key indicators of business friendliness toward Hispanic entrepreneurs.
Among the metrics, the study looked at aspects like the Hispanic entrepreneurship rate to Hispanic income growth to the share of Hispanic-owned businesses.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for Hispanic entrepreneurs.
Based on the study, here are the top 10 cities:
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score | Hispanic Business-Friendliness | Hispanic Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando, FL | 67.42 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 | Miami, FL | 64.72 | 1 | 103 |
| 3 | Pembroke Pines, FL | 64.59 | 4 | 37 |
| 4 | Cape Coral, FL | 64.45 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 64.05 | 3 | 67 |
| 6 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 62.86 | 8 | 17 |
| 7 | Hialeah, FL | 61.87 | 5 | 94 |
| 8 | Santa Clarita, CA | 58.66 | 31 | 3 |
| 9 | Tampa, FL | 58.58 | 6 | 121 |
| 10 | Albuquerque, NM | 58.21 | 9 | 101 |
For the full list, click here.
Orlando, Florida was rated the best city in the country for Hispanic entrepreneurs with Miami coming in at number two.
And the list keeps going. In fact, among the top 30 cities, 11 of them are in Florida alone.
Miami, Hialeah, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale all ranked among the cities with the highest entrepreneurship rate with Hialeah having the highest percentage of Hispanic residents.
All in all, if you are a Hispanic entrepreneur looking to kickstart your business, it seems the Sunshine State might be a good place to start.
