When it comes to high-tech startup density, Miami and Fort Lauderdale metro areas are, well, average. That’s the finding in a reportthis week by two research and policy foundations -- the Kauffman Foundation and Engine -- titled "Tech Starts: High Technology Business Formation and Job Creation in the United States."
The report looked at the density of startups per capita in 2010, and a lot has happened since then in our region. But in 2010 our region fell somewhere in the middle of the pack, its 1.0 density ranking falling exactly in line with the U.S. average. The study also looked at the change since 1990, and the Miami region stayed flat, while the Fort Lauderdale MSA actually fell a little. It may be a far different picture in 2020.
Here are the top 10, according to the report.
| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Top Metros for High-Tech Density (2010) | | | | Rank | Metro Area | Density | | 1 | Boulder, CO | 6.3 | | 2 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 3.0 | | 3 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 2.6 | | 4 | Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, CA | 2.4 | | 4 | Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA | 2.4 | | 4 | Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO | 2.4 | | 4 | San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA | 2.4 | | 8 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 2.3 | | 8 | Colorado Springs, CO | 2.3 | | 10 | Cheyenne, WY | 2.0 | | 10 | Salt Lake City, UT | 2.0 | | 10 | Corvallis, OR | 2.0 |
Along with finding that tech startup hubs are becoming more geographically diverse, the study also found that high-tech startups are springing up at a far higher rate than all private-sector businesses.