If you want to start a small business while taking the least possible risk in America, set your sights on the Dallas suburb of Plano. 

That’s according to a new report from Forbes Advisor, which has compiled a list of both the Top 25 Most Risky Cities for Small Businesses and The Top 25 Least Risky Cities.

Plano was rated the No. 1 Least Risky City in America for small businesses—and a few other North Texas cities weren’t very far behind. Fort Worth was ranked the 6th Least Risky City in the study. Arlington was ranked the 20th Least Risky City, with Dallas clocking in as the 22nd Least Risky.

Why the great scores?

All the Dallas-Fort Worth cities got high marks for sharing a 3.10% GDP growth rate and the absence of state-level corporate tax.

Plano ranks as the best city for small businesses in Forbes Advisor’s analysis for those things, but also “thanks to its particularly low property crime (17 crimes per 1,000 residents) and a higher-than-average median household income ($95,002 a year).”

Fort Worth’s No. 6 Least Risky ranking was helped by a low rate of 27 property crimes per 1,000 residents. Arlington and Dallas’ rankings had similar rationales, with 27 and 36 property crimes per 1,000 residents, respectively.

The riskiest cities are far, far away

So where are the most risky cities to start a small business in? North Texans will be glad to know they are far, far away.

“California cities are well represented as the worst cities to start a small business in, with eight in the top 15,” the report says. “The majority of these cities are within the Los Angeles metropolitan area and rank high in corporate taxes, living costs, and natural disasters that could negatively impact a small business.”

The riskiest U.S. city to start a small business in, per the report, is San Bernardino, California, which scored a 100 out of a 100 on the small business risk scale. Following it order from No. 2 to No. 10 Riskiest are: Long Beach, California; Riverside, California; Newark, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Los Angeles; St. Paul, Minnesota; Anaheim, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Texas is packed with least-risky cities, the report says

“By contrast, Texas has eight of the top 15 best cities to start a small business in,” the Forbes Advisor report says, including the four in North Texas.

The five Least Risky cities, in order from No. 1, are Plano, Texas; Laredo, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Durham, North Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Among the other Least Risky cities for small businesses that are located in Texas, Austin ranked No. 10; San Antonio No. 12; Corpus Christi No. 13; and Houston No. 24.

Methodology

To arrive at the city rankings, Forbes Advisor analyzed data for 92 of the most populated U.S. cities across 12 metrics that reflect business risks. “We considered each city’s GDP growth rate, the living wage (cost of living), state corporate taxes, minimum wage, property crime per capita, number of natural disasters, median household income, and population growth, among other metrics,” the platform said.

Forbes Advisor is a global platform “dedicated to helping consumers make the best financial choices for their individual lives.” Its editorial team is “independent and objective,” the platform says, offering unbiased personal finance advice, news, and reviews. The platform is supported by money from companies that advertise on its site.  

You can read the full Forbes Advisor report by going here.

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