2017 Best of The Midwest:
Startup City Rankings
Our goal is to provide an analytical, objective benchmark to help companies and individuals alike understand how micro-environments within the Midwest are performing relative to each other.
2016 – 2017 Highlights
- Drive Capital raises $300M Fund II, HQ'd in Columbus
- Columbus' CoverMyMeds acquired for $1.1B
- Indianapolis' Appirio acquired for $500M
- Chicago's OutcomeHealth raised $500M at $5B Valuation
- Minneapolis' Bright Health raised $160M Series B
Explore the Cities
Rankings Legend1–1011–25> 25Moved up in rankMoved down in rank
How Rankings are Calculated
Startup Activity
28% Weight
A measure of how active the tech community in the city is, and the size and quality of the network available to a new startup. It considers factors such as the number of startups present and their success rates.
Source: Crunchbase ProAccess To Resources
60% Weight
A measure of how supportive the city's environment is, and what value-add it can provide to help a startup grow. It considers factors such as the quality of the talent, investor activity, and public and private support
Source: The US Census, US Patent Office, Crunchbase, Pitchbook, and US News & World ReportBusiness Climate
12% Weight
A measure of how conducive the city's economic environment is to attract and scale a business. It includes factors such as the cost of living, population, and GDP per capita.
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Census, the Tax Foundation, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis