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Austin ranks No. 1 on new list of best cities to start a business

Austin is the best place to start your own business.

Photo courtesy of Fort Work

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Austin, as we take the No. 1 spot on CNBC's first-ever report on America's Best Places to Start a Business.

To determine the rankings, CNBC pulled data on cities with populations over 500,000 in categories such as business costs, quality of life, and small-company success.

According to the 2016 Kauffman Growth Entrepreneurship Index, Austin startups grew by 81.2 percent in the past year, faster than every city except Washington. On top of that, the study found that "the greater Austin area is breeding the highest rate of new entrepreneurs in the country," says CNBC.

Low tax rates, high educational attainment, and an affordable cost of living (comparatively) contributed to Austin's top ranking. Downsides of starting a business in the Capital City, however, include a lack of venture capital and office space.

CNBC also spoke with Austin entrepreneurs, including Hops and Grain founder Josh Hare and Honest Dollar co-founder William Hurley, to get a better feel for the city's overall environment.

"It's got the music, the university scene, the hippies, and the rule-breakers," Hurley said. "It's very easy to hire people who want to push the limits. It's an incredibly innovative city."

Austin isn't the only Lone Star city with a business-friendly attitude. Other Texas towns in the top 20 include Houston (No. 6), Dallas (No. 8), San Antonio (No. 10), McAllen (No. 12), and El Paso (No. 16).

Provo, Utah, ranks second, and Washington ranks third.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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