Small businesses have a tough time when it comes to retirement. Not only do their founders/proprietors often lack a plan and a means of saving for the day they're ready to leave the workplace behind, but employees—especially of very small businesses—also could be left out in the cold when it comes to 401(k)s or other saving mechanisms.
Small businesses employ most of the people in the country — according to the Small Business Administration, they collectively make up 99.7 percent of all employer firms, employ nearly 49 percent of the private workforce, pay about 42 percent of the private payroll, and created 63 percent of all new jobs added during the past 20 years — but most don't have 401(k) plans. Even though politicians on both sides of the aisle would like to see that change, the lack of legislative action makes that an unlikely scenario in the near future.
Still, small businesses do often grow into larger businesses, with the means and the opportunity to better provide for their employees as well as their owners. WalletHub took a look at 100 cities around the country to find which were the best and worst places for the employees of small businesses to work. The top 10, along with some insights from WalletHub expert Jill Gonzalez about some of the factors that make them that way, are below.
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Boston.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
10. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
If you're looking for health benefits, this metro area is the place for you as a small business employee. While it's still not fantastic for that—just 48.6 percent of small businesses here provide health insurance to employees—it's better than any other city in the top 10, and ranks third out of all the cities surveyed.
In addition, it has 26 small businesses for every 1,000 residents.
Dallas.
(AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)
9. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
This Texas metro area has the highest monthly earnings for small business employees, at $4,620 per month.
It also made it into the top ten because of high growth of the number of small businesses, at 7.37 percent.
8. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
This metropolitan area made it into the top 10 for high growth of the number of small businesses, at 5.79 percent.
It also offers the fifth best monthly earnings for small business employees, at $4,150 per month.
Salt Lake City.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
7. Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City is tied for the second-lowest unemployment rate, at 3.6 percent.
It also ranked fourth in industry variety and fifth in salary, at a cost-of-living-adjusted $63,900 annually.
6. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee
This neck of the Tennessee woods made it into the top ten for small business employees because of monthly income, at about $4,000 a month, and also for a variety of industry offering the potential for employment.
(Dave Weaver/Invision for See's Candies/AP Images)
5. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska
With the second lowest unemployment rate at 3.6 percent, and a good rate of industry variety, this is a good place to look for and find a job.
The median annual income is also pretty good, at a cost-of-living-adjusted $63,308.
4. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
The Austin-Round Rock area was the second highest polled for median annual income (adjusted for the cost of living), at around $65,800.
In addition, it's the fifth highest for growth in the number of small businesses by 14 percent, and has the fourth highest projected population growth, at 91% percent by 2042.
Oklahoma City.
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
3. Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City's chief boast is the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the country, at 3.7 percent.
It's not particularly outstanding for median annual income, but employees here make a respectable $55,119 (adjusted for cost of living).
2. Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh's median annual income of $65,700 (adjusted for the cost of living) helped it get to its position on the top 10, with a third-place ranking.
In addition, its population is expected to grow by a whopping 87 percent by 2042 — meaning more business for small businesses, one would hope.
Downtown Charlotte.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
1. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North and South Carolina
The metropolitan area created by these three cities was second among the 100 surveyed for growth on the number of small businesses, increasing their total number by more than 20 percent from 2007–2013.
In addition, because it has a wide variety of small businesses (third best in the country), it offers prospective small-business employees a nice range of potential jobs.
It's no paradise, though, because just a shade over 30 percent of its small businesses provide health insurance to their employees.
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